how long should my turtle be basking fore?

Question

lol i feel like a newb spaming the ask question site.....
as u may or may not now i got a baby turtle yesterday and all day yesterday he didnt bask once. i would put him in the basking area and he would run straight fore water... i have to go to work today so i wont beable to watch him... i kinda think he wont go up to his basking place couse hes scared of it.... its a perfecty normal basking area....
my dad thinks thers to much water in the tank but i dont know.. its a 60 gal and its about 18 inches tall with about 14 inches of water with a water dock thingy fore him to bask on..... also i asumed he would sleap on the basking area. When i checked on him he was sleaping bobbing in the water is that how they sleap?

lol so my 2 questions are:
how long do they normaly bask each day
how do they usaly sleap

thank you in advance
and sory about the spelling mistakes

Answer 1

Aquatic turtles are great swimmers even babies. Your turtle will grow so the water is fine. Your turtle will love all the swimming room.
They should bask for 10-12 hours a day but they don't always so just keep its light on for that long. If he/she is not basking if you have a heater turn the heater down alittle so the water temperature goes down. My turtle sleeps on her turtle dock (the part thats in the water) with her head up out of the water to breath and the rest of her body in the water.

Answer 2

i do not knwo how big your turtle is, but i think you have way to much water in the tank. the height of the water should be as tall as the width of his shell. the pefect way of measuring it is, tipping the turtle on its side really quickly and markinng how high that shell goes, remember its the width ( like his hips) not the lenght ( head to toe). the basking are shouldnt reach over 95 degrees, it might be too hot for him, or to close. try elevating the light, or lowering the basking area. also, make sure you have a uvb light. ive seen turtles bask all day, and some never bask once. there are some incidences of shell rot that can occur if the turtles dont bask. this is when you have to force him to dry up the shell, and add calcium to the water and diet. well if you have any more questions please ask. and they'll go in their night stage when the lights go out...sometimes.

ps your dad is right about too much water. you should have more than just a floating dock for him too. he's probably scared of that more than the light. gradually build up some slate so he has many areas to bask, some in the water, some out, some in between. he probably doesnt feel safe. so buy or find some slate rocks and build it up, kind of like a ramp.

Answer 3

You should lower the water level in the tank to about 8 inches until the turtle is a little larger.

Baby turtles in the wild spend almost all of there time hiding in the water or under plants. So i suggest you get a plant to place on the shelf for it to hide under.

Turtles only bask to bring up their body temp, so if your tank is relatively warm your turtle may prefer to spend most of its time in the water. There is no specific amount of time that they have to bask so don't worry about it.

Since you have only had your little guy for a day he is probably still stressed out from the move, leave him alone for a few days and let him get used to his new home and he will be fine.

Answer 4

I have had a water turtle for , oh gosh , about atleast fifteen years. NOw your dad is right@!!! YOU have way too much water in that tank. HOw in heaven's sake do you empty the water out to clean it ,.or do you have a filter on it. our tank is 12 inches deep, 24 inches long and 12and on half inches wide. Now i have about no more than four inches of water deep in the tank and a rock with a flat top for her to lay on and a little desk type lamp that shines over her rock. She often lays out on it for as long as 12 to 36 hours at a time, AND not this winter but most winters she has hibernated ,or atleast thats all i can call it , as she doesnt go in the water and just sleeps sleeps sleeps for as long as four to six or even more weeks, but dont tap on the glass or try to get its attention just cause your afraid its dead, Its just hibernating during which period she doesnt eat , or deficate , but i have actually truthfully occassionally heard the odd fart or two over the years we have had this turtle. I hope i have answered most of your questions. and OH ours loves fresh shrimp. It only eats a total in one sitting of about one whole fresh shrimp, but make sure you wash it well and cut it into nice bite size chunks for your turtle okay? THer e you go, oh and i hope it has answered your questions. Sincerely , Robert.G.

Answer 5

OMg thats what MY baby turtle does! when i put it in the basking area it runs stright to the water...u just gotta give it some time to get use to the area...right now its probably afraid.i got a baby turtle like 2 weeeks ago =]

Answer 6

4 hours

Answer 7

mine bask for hours for about 5 hours they sleep when you turn there lights off
GOOD LUCK :)