How long can turtles survive without their light? ((Details inside!!!))?

Question

So I'm house-sitting for my neighbors this weekend which includes feeding their cat, bird, and turtle. They found this turtle as a baby in a river, its green and its got yellow stripes all over his skin (its the water kind :] ) and they have this special light for him on top of his cage to heat his rock. I'm not sure if this is a comfort thing or if he needs it to survive. Well when I went to check on things at their house today, his light was burnt out. I can't get to the store right now and I was wondering how long he can live without his light, I'm not sure exactly when it went out so I'm sort of afraid. Any help?

Answer 1

he can live for a while .....because when he is outside he doesnt have heat all the time...but if it is hot ouside i would take it outside for a while but you still need to get a heat bulb ASAP

Answer 2

cute western painted :)

your friend's turtle will be fine for the time they are out of town. if you still feel nervous you can use a regular house bulb for the heat aspect, however for the UVB they will need a different bulb which they can purchase when they come home.

Answer 3

he'll be fine till tomorrow for sure. You can leave his light on up to 10 hrs.

I have 2 that are 36 yrs old and when they were in a tank they basked alll day. Now they have a pond and they bask about 12 hrs plus..

your doing great and your caring!

you can babysit mine any time!

Answer 4

I believe it's a painted turtle, I think he should be fine for about a day, but be sure to get him another bulb ASAP. Good luck. :]

Answer 5

Ok first of all, it is definatly not just for comfort!In the wild turtles need to bask under the sun, because they are cold-blooded, and need to warm up, because their body temperature depends on their sorroundings! The turtle will freeze if you dont put a heat source in there, for now you can shine a lamp in the house onto the basking spot, the basking temp should be 85-90F, check with a thermometer. Also does the tank not have 2 lights? There should be two lights a uva light that offers heat, and a uvb bulb that gives off important uvb rays for the turtle's shell to absorb, there needs to be a uVB bulb!!! By the way tell your friend, that she needs to get a zoomed floating dock, that floats along the water, so she can fill up the turtle tank almost completely with water. The temperature of the water should be 78-82F, your friend should have gotten a thermometer to measure the temp. You dont have to worry about that if the tank comes with a water heater( which it really should, if your friend is a responcible owner!) The tank should be at least 50 gallons, because the turtle will grow, if its 10 gallons ( 24 inches by10 inches) then that is WAY TOO small for a turtle, and is very cruel to keep them that way. The tank should also have a filter to keep the water clean. The turtle should be fed reptomin, crickets, shrimp, mealworms and veggies like kale and mustard greens. The food should also be dusted with a calcim supplement, like reptocal. If your reading this, and your like "what??", and the turtle has none of these things, then your friend doesnt know how to take proper care of the turtle, and shouldn't own one. If the tank has all of these things, then fine, but usually a turtle dousnt need to be turtle sitted, because most busy people have the turtle lights on timers.. but whatever responcible owners should know these things.

Answer 6

No problem. It's summer, so the turtle won't freeze. A UVB light allows the turtle to manufacture its own vitamin D. No big deal if that is interrupted for a few days. If you are worried, feed it some liver or another good source.