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Basking at night?

PostPosted: Wed Jun 01, 2005 10:19 am
by GouzlanTheAmerican
Well... my new turt jeffery likes to bask alot. when the light goes off at night he is still baskin. His eys are closed in the night time so i figured he's sleepin. why dosnt he sleep in the water? Should i be worried about this? this morning when i woke up, he was still sleeping on his rock. the basking lamp wasnt on yet. would there be a reason that he dosnt want to sleep in the water? my water and basking temps are fine (well when the lights are on). i think at night the basking temps are about 76-80F. The water stays around 80F.

PostPosted: Wed Jun 01, 2005 10:28 am
by jenaero
I wouldn't worry too much right now, but keep an eye on him for a few days to see if there is anything else going on like lopsided swimming, puffy eyes, etc.

Mine sleep on the dock sometimes and they're fine. It just means they feel safe enough to sleep there.

ok good

PostPosted: Wed Jun 01, 2005 10:32 am
by GouzlanTheAmerican
ok thats good thing to know. yeah my turtle is very brave when it comes to humans. he started eating out of my hand after one day of having him. I'll keep an eye on him though. so far no sings of any of those things. I triyed to pick out the heathyest of the 3 they had there.

PostPosted: Wed Jun 01, 2005 11:05 am
by steve
is he active? does he have an appetite?

yep

PostPosted: Wed Jun 01, 2005 12:42 pm
by GouzlanTheAmerican
he is very active. and he dose have an appitite. i just fed him from my hand about 2 minutes ago. he is so cute he dosnt even relize i droped the food into the tank. he thinks it's still on my finger. he trys to jump out and get my finger. soo cute!

umm... geting closer

PostPosted: Wed Jun 01, 2005 11:53 pm
by GouzlanTheAmerican
ok the lights just whent off about 5 minutes ago. he was in the water. but i just checked on him again and now he is half on the dock and half in the water. Getting closer. maby cuse he is so small he is afrid of the water cuse it is kinda deep. but he can swim just fine.

PostPosted: Thu Jun 02, 2005 9:50 am
by STRAYKINGFISHER
It could also be that the basking light is not hot enough and he sees no reason to get back in the water unless he gets thirsty, mine like to sleep in the water, in the morning when I turn the lights on, I see both of them motionless with their eyes closed, slowly they open their eyes, and ofcourse, they begin begging :lol: :lol:

Temps

PostPosted: Thu Jun 02, 2005 11:23 am
by GouzlanTheAmerican
I took the temps of the water and dock. dock was 90F. water is 80F. So maby it's just were he likes to sleep.

PostPosted: Thu Jun 02, 2005 12:19 pm
by STRAYKINGFISHER
I agree, some turtles are just odd :lol:

PostPosted: Thu Jun 02, 2005 12:29 pm
by steve
would he still sleep there at night if the basking light/heater was off? maybe you should try a different thermometer just in case.

It is off

PostPosted: Thu Jun 02, 2005 12:49 pm
by GouzlanTheAmerican
The baskin light is off at night. but he still sleeps there anyway. I just cheked the water and basking temps with different thermometers, and they read 85F for the basking temp, and 75F for the water temp. That means that my thermometer was reading 5 degrees higher. Should i be worrying about this or is it fine.

PostPosted: Thu Jun 02, 2005 1:01 pm
by steve
upper 70's is good for younger turts. if he's eating, swims fine and has no visible signs of distress then i think you're on the safe side. i think it's abit unusual, but maybe he feels really safe over there.

Care

PostPosted: Thu Jun 02, 2005 1:52 pm
by Oldturtle72
I have a 2 by 6 board, about 3 feet long , running from just under the edge of the basking platform up and into the nesting box. The board has slots cut across it for claw holds about every 3/4 inch. I suppose that during the day, the basking light heats up the board a little because when I go down to the basement for any reason, after the turtles lights are off, there will be 2 or 3 turts sleeping on the board and 1 or 2 sleeping on the slate slab. I have never seen a turtle sleeping out of the water in my outdoor pond, so I am assuming that they feel secure in the basement but not in the 'great outdoors'. George :D :D