Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I posted a few weeks ago on how my one three-toed was seeking the coolest part of the tank and eating little. Well, fixed that by adding more light.

Just in the past week or two, my aquatics (one midland painted, one red-eared slider) are less active, eating less, but they still occasionally bask (but maybe not quite as muhc). I assume they are not sick - is it likely the amount of light per day is causing the behavior change?

Other years near winter like now, my turtle(s) were in a 30" by 12" tanks, and the heat lamp and UV lamp, I assume, made a larger percentage of the area used by the turtle to be brightened (with the smaller tank I had little or no change in behavior as autumn and winter came along). I have the same heat and UV lamps now, but the percentage of the new 48" by 18" new tank lit up is not nearly as much as before.

Just today I added an incandescent light.... maybe that will make the difference

I have a cb western painted that I've had since he was a hatchling. He's 13 years old right now.. he's never done this. In the early years I thought he'd slow down in fall/winter but he never does. His behavior never changes.
He basks for many hours a day, I do use a 40 watt incandescent bulb over his basking area, I always have.
Same old guy no matter what time of year, eats the same, has the same amount of activity and he thinks he's Mr. Bad.
-----
PHRatz

"Mr. Bad" lives quite a bit farther south than my aquatics do, plus I'm guessing he doesn't have the Michiganian fall/winter clouds.

Is your water turtles water heated with a submersible heater? Do you monitor the water temp?
-----
1.0 pastel ball python
0.1 mojave ball python
0.1 normal ball python
0.2 3-toed box turtles
2.3 eastern box turtles
0.0.5 3-striped mud turtle
1.0 northern diamondback terrapin
2.1 tiger salamander
1.1 red-sided garter
1.0 anerythristic red-sided garter
1.1 Iowa snow plains garter
1.1 Het butter stripe cornsnake
0.1 anerythristic motley cornsnake
1.1 Blue garter (Puget Sound)

boxienuts wrote:

"Is your water turtles water heated with a submersible heater? Do you monitor the water temp?"

I don't heat the water, and haven't ever put a thermometer in it. Since before this fall my aquatics never changed behavior, I never thought I needed those things. But the smaller tank I used to have probably had its water partly heated by the heat lamp.... but the new, bigger tank of water won't get that warm from the same heat lamp. Really can't afford a heater.... they've slowed down, but they'll perk up in spring again.

The new tank is also in the same place as the older smaller tank, but just a tad closer to the window and wall. But I don't want to move

Yeah, I'm sure they will be fine, but if you wanted them to remain active a submersible water heater keeping the water 76-78 would make a big difference.
-----
1.0 pastel ball python
0.1 mojave ball python
0.1 normal ball python
0.2 3-toed box turtles
2.3 eastern box turtles
0.0.5 3-striped mud turtle
1.0 northern diamondback terrapin
2.1 tiger salamander
1.1 red-sided garter
1.0 anerythristic red-sided garter
1.1 Iowa snow plains garter
1.1 Het butter stripe cornsnake
0.1 anerythristic motley cornsnake
1.1 Blue garter (Puget Sound)

>>boxienuts wrote:
>>
>>"Is your water turtles water heated with a submersible heater? Do you monitor the water temp?"
>>
>>I don't heat the water, and haven't ever put a thermometer in it.

Aha.. that's something I didn't mention, I have always heated the water. I have to because it gets too cool in winter for sure, but in summer the air conditioner is running 24/7 so it's still too cool.

Mr. Bad lol though was born in captivity so he wouldn't know about clouds or cool outdoor temps anyway.
-----
PHRatz

re: what you said about Mr. Bad: I doubt turtles have to have "experience" about weather to "know" how to respond to it, i.e., he has the capability to respond whether captive born or wild caught.

BTW, I've realized about my turtles that the light change probably is not the reason for decreased activity an feeding. I added more light to places in the tank, and they just seek out the dark areas. The change must be mostly from temps.