Turtles need a lot of sun to stay healthy. Without it, they can go dormant and die. Turtles may be one of the most well-known reptiles of all time.
They have the ability to live a dual life as wild animals or pets. Today, we’re going to learn how often they need to bask in sunlight, which is also important for their overall health and happiness.
Basking In Sun: How Long Can Turtle Go Without It?
Most turtles can go for 24 hours or more without basking. But it’s not recommended for them to spend this long time without basking, as they need sunlight to form strong shells and bones. Turtles must bask at least once every day.
Turtles need to bask in order to survive. They bask for the necessary UVA and UBA light from the sunlight, and these lights are essential for their natural behavior and daily life activities.
Turtles must bask every day, or it could have damaging effects when they encounter uncomfortable surroundings.
More often than not, they spend up to three hours basking in the sun. Occasionally, they can bask for as long as nine hours.
The length of time a turtle can live without basking is difficult to estimate. Long periods of time can pass without turtles basking.
Without surfacing to bask in the sun, they can easily live in the water for 24 hours or 72 hours.
A lack of basking in the sun can shorten turtle’s lives. Sunlight is what gives their bones and shells strength.
If they are not sunbathing, they will be weakened over time. It also reduces their lifespan significantly to not bask at all.
Can A Turtle Live Without Basking? Do Turtles Need To Bask Every Day?
Turtles have been known to live many days without basking, but it’s not known exactly how many.
It is believed that they can live for many days, but the cost may be much higher than we think.
Sunlight is necessary for the hardening and health of their shells. If the turtles don’t bask, their health will be in jeopardy.
A minimum of once every 24 hours is required for them to bask. This means they need to bask at least once per day. The lowest period is two hours, while the highest is nine hours.
Turtles can also become overheated during their basking period. If your turtle spends too much time out of the water, or if its basking at regular intervals exceeds nine hours, you’ll need to talk to a vet.
Why Do Turtles Bask?
One of the most important reasons why turtles bask is because their bodies are cold-blooded. To stay warm, cold-blooded animals need to bask in the sun. The warm sunshine helps them control their body temperature.
Turtles are often active during the day, or diurnal. Therefore, they need sunlight to help them fulfill their dietary needs and essential bodily functions, such as eating and mating. Turtles also need UVB and UVA light from the sun for vitamin D production.
Vitamin D helps turtles process calcium. Calcium is important for the turtle’s shell and bones to be healthy.
The sun also helps the turtle get rid of parasites that love the shell. So mainly laying out in the sun is what makes them survive.
Why Is My Turtle Not Basking?
One of the main reasons why your turtle might not be basking is because it’s still new to its environment.
It’ll take time for your turtle to get used to its surroundings. That’s why they may not bask right away.
If your old turtle suddenly stops basking when an adrenaline rush is triggered, the reason for the change in behavior could be because it is scared and stressed.
How do turtles do under stress? They don’t do well. Plus, if your reptile is pregnant, it’s possible that a lack of a routine could be to blame for the turtle’s lack of basking time.
One reason may be that the temperature of their basking area is too hot for them.
The perfect basking temperature for turtles is about eighty to ninety degrees Fahrenheit. Anything over that would be too hot, and anything under it would be too cold for your turtle.
Creating a makeshift basking area can create problems for turtles. Turtles need to have an easily accessible basking spot, and don’t like feeling trapped or uneasy.
What happens if a turtle doesn’t bask?
If you’re raising a turtle, there are certain things that you can do to ensure it lives healthy and happy.
Some of these things involve basking. But what does this mean? Let’s have a discussion about it!
Decreasing the lifespan:
Turtles are required to bask every day in to have a healthy and long life. If a turtle does not bask, it will start to eat away at the lifespan of the turtle.
Weakens the shell:
Turtles need the UVA and UVB light they get from the sun by basking. Vitamin D of the UVB light is especially important for turtles because it assists them in absorbing calcium.
A turtle’s shell is fundamentally affected by calcium. If a turtle stops basking, their shell will become weaker.
Weakens the bones:
Turtles take a lot of time laying out in the sun in to have strong bones. Strengthening their bones is made possible by the calcium they acquire from the sun. If they stop basking in the sun, their bones will become weaker as a result.
Causing erratic behavior:
Turtles need sunlight to remain healthy. If they cease basking in the sun, then many changes can occur.
They might not even do important things like eating or movement during the day (nocturnal).
Turtles will become scared and stressed if this happens for an extended period of time.
Falls prey to parasites:
Turtles need sunlight to get rid of parasites that live on their shell. If they stop basking enough, the parasites can easily live on their body and harm them.
What Is The Best Way To Get My Turtle To Bask?
Turtles are required to bask in the sun to help them shed their winter coat.
A turtle’s behavior can sometimes change. These five tips will show you how to make it bask in the sun again:
Repair the basking area:
Sometimes, your turtle might not feel like basking in the homemade area you created. It is possible to fix such a problem if that is the case.
The ramp of your basking area can be enhanced with gripping materials. It will make basking more convenient for your turtle.
Adjust the temperature:
Turtles can have trouble adjusting to changes in temperature. The water in their basking area and living area tank need to be at a temperature of roughly seventy-eighty degrees Fahrenheit.
You’ll want your turtle’s basking area to be about 80-90 degrees Fahrenheit. You can adjust the temperature to find the perfect conditions for your turtle.
Find out the cause:
Turtles stop basking when they’re scared or stressed. You will have to find the cause of their stress and make it go away completely.
Loud noises are often what cause your turtle to feel scared, so you’ll have to distance the water tank from anything that’s too loud.
If you notice that your turtle is not basking as it usually does, there could be a variety of reasons for this.
It can also be difficult to identify a cause if you’re inexperienced. If you find yourself in this position, it’s always best to seek out professional help from a vet.
Is It A Good Idea To Leave My Turtle’s Heat Lamp On At Night?
Daytime basking is necessary for turtles. They do not require to bask at night, so it’s not necessary to leave their heat lamp on.
Turtles should be exposed to 12 hours of sunlight followed by 12 hours of darkness. Leaving the heat lamp on at night could break this cycle.
Heating lamps can be of different types. It is better to choose the ones that produce both UVA and UVB light. These will be perfect for your turtle to bask under.
Make sure you turn off the lights at night in order to protect your animal from excessively basking under lights.
It’s important that you provide turtles with a heat lamp so they can absorb the heat and produce Vitamin D in their shells.
But don’t leave the lamp on all night because they need darkness, just like humans do.
Here Are Some Final Thoughts
The highest period a turtle can go without basking is around two to three days. It is essential for turtles to bask in the sun every day in order to keep their body temperatures steady.
The average period of time they bask is three hours, but occasionally they can bask for as long as nine hours.