Can Turtles Sleep in the Dark? (Beginners Guide) 

Turtles need two types of light, one that will provide UVB rays, and one that will provide heat. You can’t have a proper turtle tank without those two types of light. But do they also need a night light? Or can turtles just sleep in the dark?

Most turtles sleep in the dark and don’t need any light source in order to sleep.  A powerful light source can actually disturb the sleep of most turtles.

Now let’s get a little more in-depth at why it would be bad to have a light on during the night, and have a look at some types of lights that you can use during the night if you want to take a look at your turtle.

Why You Shouldn’t Add a Night Light to the Tank 

When you keep a turtle as a pet you usually want to do your best to replicate some of the conditions that they have in the wild. And in the wild, for a good part of the day, there is little to no light.

If your turtle were to be exposed to powerful lights 24/7 it won’t be able to maintain a proper sleep schedule, and this will affect its health. So a night light will do more harm than good.

But if you want to see your turtle during the night, there are a  few types of light that you can leave on, that won’t bother your turtle and won’t affect it in any bad way.

Night Lights That You Can Use

Special night lamps for turtles usually are usually made out of red, blue, purple, or black glass and they let out a very dim light that won’t bother your turtle while still allowing you to see it. You can think of this light as the one that the moon gives.

Those kinds of bulbs also produce some heat, which makes them great for juveniles who need more heat than adults, but they can’t replace a heating lamp which is essential for all turtles, regardless of their age.

Naturally Lighting the Tank During the Night

Overall the best and simplest way to light up a turtle tank is to place it in a naturally lit room.

This way the moon will be able to light the tank in the same way it lights the ponds and lakes where turtles live in the wild. And during the day the sun will provide some extra UVB rays.

What to Do If You Can’t Keep Your Turtle in a Naturally Lit Room

For a long time, I also kept my tank in a room that was naturally lit by the sun for most of the day. But unfortunately, I had to move the tank out of that room at some point, so I started looking for the best way to light the tank.

I tried using the room light, I tried using a couple of lamps that I had around the house, and they were OK, but they were definitely not great. So in the end I decided to try a light that was designed for this.

I choose to use the ClassicLED Aquarium Light for my turtle tank. There are some really great things about this light. One of the best things is that the light is powerful enough to help the plants grow really fast, a lot of lights are not powerful enough to help the plants grow and that can be kind of annoying sometimes, but with this lamp, I had no problems with this.

Another great thing is that it won’t get damaged as soon as a couple of drops of water hit it. In the past, I used lamps that would stop working as soon as a drop of water hit them, but this one seems to have no problem with this ( but this doesn’t mean that you should drop it inside the tank and expect it to work just fine after that).

So even if a normal light can work OK, a light that is made especially for this definitely has its own advantages.

Don’t Forget the UVB Light

Since we talked so much about turtles and light, I want to remind you not to forget about the UVB light, which is often overlooked.

UVB light is a light spectrum of UV light that plays a very important role in the life of most reptiles, and that also includes turtles. UVB light plays a vital role in the production of Vitamin D3 which is essential for the calcium in the body.

Without UVB light turtles (as well as humans and many other animals) wouldn’t be able to get the proper amount of Vitamin D which can lead to improper bone growth, metabolic bone disease, softshell, shell rot, and many other bad things.

When choosing a light bulb you have to be careful not to confuse UVB light with UVA light. UVA light helps regulate behaviors such as feeding, diurnal movement, mating, and similar activities. And while all those things are good, this is not the kind of light bulb that you want to get for your turtle.

When it comes to choosing UVB bulbs things can be a little bit complicated due to the huge variety of wattages, in which UVB bulbs can be found. And then there is the fact that most manufacturers have a different rating system, and some of them have no instructions at all.

So, for UVB bulbs, I am going to give you the exact distance for a few bulbs that I’ve used before that come from a reputable manufacturer, and I will provide links to Amazon, where you can get them

And in case you have something between the UVB bulb, like a net, or a grill, you want to move the bulb closer by one inch, as anything in between the turtle and the bulb will reduce the amount of UVB rays.

One more thing to keep in mind is that UVB bulbs will stop producing UVB rays, way before they will stop producing light. On average I would say that a UVB bulb only produces UVB rays for only half of its lifespan. I measured the amount of UVB light produced by the bulbs and noticed that after about 6 months, the amount drops considerably, so I change my light bulbs at around 6 months, and I would advise you to do the same.

And if you want to measure how much UVB light your bulb produces you can use this device. While it’s a little bit expensive, overall it will save you money since you will know exactly when the bulbs run out of UVB light, and it will help your turtle remain healthy. But it’s not a requirement.

Final Thoughts

So turtles don’t really need a night light, turtles prefer to sleep in the dark. If you really want to see your turtles during the night you can always move the tank to a naturally lit room, or buy a special night light for turtle tanks.

I hope this article answered all the questions that you had about turtle night lights. But in case you still have some questions you can always leave them in the comment section and I will do my best to answer them as soon as possible.

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