Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all, I am posting this here as there seems to be the most traffic. Any ideas on how to heat water for hatchling turtles? These turtles happen to be pink bellied sidenecks but I think sliders need heated water as well so...

There is only an inch of water in there. Can I use a regular fish tank heater? I am afraid they might burn themselves on it.

Thank you very much,
Carole
-----
----------------------
www.reptilecare.com

For sliders I would give them about 4-5 inches of water but
make sure there are areas that they can easily get out of the
water to bask as well as some floating fake plants that they
can rest and hide in. I got my sliders as hatchling and never
heated the water. It depend on your setup for them. If they
are in a 10-20 gallon enclosure the basking lamp will heat
the water during the day naturally and the water will cool at
night. In the winter months, when they were tiny, I kept a
red bulb on during the night over the water to take the chill
off. Red bulbs tend not to disrupt their sleep patterns.

My hatchlings are now 7 years old and 2.5 lbs. They have
never been ill and are very healthy. I currently am raising
a southern painted who is not 1.5 years old. I am raising him
the exact same way as my sliders and have had no problems with
him. In fact, my big turtles are now outdoors for the summer
so my baby is enjoying the 120 gallon aquarium

Just to clarify, this is for red ear sliders, not the other
turtles you referred to. Sliders do well in deep water.

Hope this helps and here is a picture of my girl slider.
Linda