While turtles are excellent pets, it can be expensive to buy all the accessories needed for a pet turtle. In today’s article, I am going to go over the best ways to keep a turtle warm without using a heat lamp.
How to keep a turtle warm without a heat lamp?
The best way to keep a turtle warm without a heat lamp is with direct sunlight, adding warm water, heating pad, incandescent light bulbs, heat rocks, and candles.
Direct sunlight
The easiest and cheapest way to keep a turtle warm without a heat lamp is by placing your turtle tank directly in sun light. The best way to do this is to place the tank directly next to a window. Ideally you should put it next to a window that receives the most amount of sunlight per day.
This can even be better than a heat lamp, as the sun is more natural for a turtle. Since water takes a long time to cool down, it can even help keep the water warm even though it is nighttime.
Light and heat is essential for keeping your turtle healthy. If you don’t give them access to enough light and heat, it could be the reason why your turtle isn’t growing.
Heat rocks
Heat rocks are a new trend that are finding there way into more and more turtle tanks. These rocks are great because they are great decorations and keep your turtle warm. All you need to do is place the rock into the tank and plug it into a power outlet.
You can click the picture below to find more info on amazon.
Your turtle will most likely use this rock as their basking area. My favorite rock heater is the Zoo Med Repticare Rock Heater which costs less than $10 on amazon. It can reach a temperature of 85 degrees fahrenheight, which is the perfect temperature for most pet turtles.
Adding warm water
While this will take a little more work, you can also help keep your turtle warm by regularly adding warm water to the tank. This will likely have to be done daily, so it is mostly just a temporary fix. You can do this by putting a bowl of water in the microwave for 1 minute.
While you want the water to be warm, you should make sure there is no steam coming from the water before you put it into the tank. I suggest keeping a thermometer in your tank so you can track the water temperature, so you know when to add the water.
Adding warm water can also help dilute the water in your turtle tank and help keep the water clean. You can also warm the water with a turtle water heater.
Heating pad
Another alternative to a heat lamp is to put a heating pad on the outside of your tank. I don’t recommend putting it on the inside of the tank, as some turtles might be inclined to nibble on it. You can easily tape the heating pad to the back side of the tank near the basking area.
It is also beneficial to have a thermometer on the land portion of your turtle tank so you can monitor the air temperature. Most pet turtles require an air temperature between 75 and 85 degrees fahrenheight.
Incandescent light bulbs
If you are unable to purchase a heat lamp, you can just put an incandescent light bulb at the top of your turtle tank. While this will cost you a little more in electricity, an incandescent light bulb has high wattage and emits a lot of heat.
It also emits a wide range of UV rays compared to other types of light bulb. If you do decide to use this, you only need to keep it turned on during the day. It is important the light bulb is kept out of reach from your turtle.
Candles
Candles are another way you can help keep your turtle tank warm without a heat lamp. Since this does present a fire hazard, this should only be used as a last case scenario. You should put the candle a couple inches away from the tank. You should also stay there and watch the candle to make sure it doesn’t fall over.
I only used this once during a snowstorm when I lost power and it was the only option.
Why do turtles need a heat lamp?
While the above recommendations can be a temporary fix, I think it is best to just go ahead and purchase a heat lamp for your turtle. Turtles need a heat source because they are unable to regulate their body temperature by themselves.
Heat lamps help speed up a turtles metabolism, and also helps them keep a strong immune system. The UVB light emitted from a heat lamp also helps a turtle produce vitamin D3.
It is possible that your turtle dies suddenly if you don’t provide adequate heat and light.
What happens if you don’t have a heat lamp for you turtle?
If your turtle doesn’t have a heat lamp or another adequate heat source, it could present a wide rang of health issues. Your turtle will likely develop a respiratory illness if they are not able to warm themselves up. In extreme case, they might also develop a metabolic bone disease if they don’t receive enough heat and are unable to produce D3.
Your turtle might also start to develop strange behaviors, such as head twitching.
How long can a turtle go without a heat lamp
A turtle can usually go around 1 to 2 weeks without a heat lamp or other source of UVB light or heat. While some turtles might be able to survive longer, they will be susceptible to the following conditions:
- Respiratory infection
- Metabolic bone disease
- Depression
- Digestive issues
- Calcium deficiencies
Since your turtle is at risk without a heat lamp, I recommend that you just buy a heat lamp online from amazon. Amazon has plenty of cheap heat lamps available, and some of them are under $15.
