Should baby sliders be sleeping long hours?

I know the baby turtle should be kept from trying to hibernate, but I'm just very concerned. Thanks in advance for your reply.


Andy in NJ

Should baby sliders be sleeping long hours?
Baby turtles eat, bask, and sleep so a lot of sleep is reasonably normal.





HOWEVER if it is sleeping a lot, then there is usually a basic care issue to consider. Some common issues include:





- Tank is too small. A baby turtle should have a 10 gallon pool to swim in (a 20 gallon tank half-filled). As it grows, the ratio should be 10 gallons of water per inch of turtle.





- Tank is too cold. Water should be heated to about 75-80, with basking sites heated to about 90.





- Lighting is off. As the days get shorter, turtles want to hibernate. We can overcome this with sun-like lighting set to summery day lengths. Lighting also helps with heating and the right lights can help provide UV light, which turtles need.





- Dirty water. Not a big issue with lethargic turtles, except that it allows the turtles to become ill. Big tanks and good filters help.





- Mediocre diet. Cheap turtle food is not healthy or nutritious. A good diet combines high-quality pellets with live (or frozen/thawed) 'fish foods' like small fish, worms, bugs, etc. Babies especially like bloodworms.





Try the following sites for more info:
Reply:iono
Reply:I guess so...They're babies after all. They're growing.



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