How dangerous is the current situation for my turtles?
I have two Red-eared turtles (I was wrong in my former question about them being "trachemys scripta scripta": they are trachemys scripta elegans; don't know whether it makes a significant difference in the question I have now, but just to clarify the readers), in my aquarium (50x30x6cm water, some rocks and dry stuff, and a warmer). I clean my aquarium once a week, replacing the water, and everyday I add two drops of methylene blue to the aquarium (and also feed them, once a day).
The warmer got broken (don't know why, nor how - I just saw the turtles were less active today, and the first thing I checked was the water warmer and temperature: the warmer was like scratched in the surrounding glass). I don't know when did it broke, but was between yesterday night (perhaps 10pm, or today after 00hs) and today morning (before 8:30am). I disconnected it when I saw it scratched. At 13:00hs here, I'm planning to buy a new one. Current environmental temperature (11:30hs now) is 21°C.
Is it somehow dangerous for the turtles the current situation? Should I take additional* cares/checks on the turtles?
(* besides running as fast as I can to buy and install a new warmer)
(2)2 Comments
Sorted by latest first Latest Oldest Best
If their body temperature falls below a threshold of 21 °C, they are
unable to carry out normal functions of digestion and defecation.
Wikipedia Entry for Red-Eared Slider
You may want to get this solved quickly. That's 69.8 F. I recommend a heating lamp as a stopgap.
That is perfectly safe for the turtles, there is no need to rush it at all.
I asked the same question to my vet a while back, and his answer was that in such cases I should just "look out to mother nature". Trachemys Scripta can live and thrive in the wild in most of Europe (Definitely in Spain, where it is displacing local turtle species). During the snow melting season, the temperature of most rivers is just above the freezing point, but the turtles survive in that waters for weeks. If they can survive that, they can definitely survive a broken heater for a couple of days.
Note: I know this is a very old question, but I think it is important to share a different point of view.
Terms of Use Privacy policy Contact About Cancellation policy © freshhoot.com2025 All Rights reserved.