Can Turtles Sleep Outside the Water? (+Pictures)

We’ve all seen turtles sleeping underwater, and it’s a very fascinating thing to see a turtle, which needs to breathe air in order to survive, spend hours sleeping underwater. But, why do turtles sleep underwater, can’t they just sleep on land, or are they unable to do so?

Most turtles choose to sleep underwater due to the fact that it’s safer than sleeping on the ground, but all turtles are perfectly able to sleep outside the water, even if they choose not to. But under certain circumstances, a turtle can choose to sleep outside of the water.

So turtles can sleep outside of the water without any problem, but that’s not always the best thing for them to do. Let’s take a closer look at why that is the case.

Why Turtles Sleep Underwater

When choosing a place to sleep one of the most important factors for turtles is protection. They will try to find a sleeping spot that offers them good protection against predators.

And in most cases that spot is underwater since there are fewer predators, and turtles can move faster there than they can on land.

But there are certain times when turtles don’t have the chance of going underwater, or for some reason, the water is not that safe.

When this happens they will usually try to find a good place near piles of rocks or leaves, and if possible they will try to stay under them. These kinds of spots offer great protection from predators that attack from above.

Turtle sleeping under a pile of leaves

Other places they like to sleep are tree stumps as well as holes in the ground. Those spots usually offer great protection from all kinds of predators.

Tortoise sleeping in a small cave

If they can find no rocks or holes to hide they can also go to places with dense vegetation. These kinds of places greatly reduce visibility thus making them a great place to sleep.

Turtles also tend to sleep near rivers with sandy and muddy shores where they can dig a hole.

Sea turtles usually look for underwater structures that will keep them safe during the night.

Sea turtle sleeping under some coral

Turtles That Can’t Sleep Underwater

While most turtles can sleep underwater, not all of them are able to do so. The turtle family splits into three distinctive groups.

Aquatic turtles which are able to sleep underwater, here are a few members of this group:

Red Eared Sliders
Painted Turtles
Pond Turtles
Map Turtles
Wood Turtles

Land turtles, which are also known as tortoises, those turtles are unable to sleep or breathe underwater, here are a few members of this group:

Box Turtle
Russian Tortoise
Hermann Tortoise
Greek Tortoise
Indian Star Tortoise

The third group is the sea turtle group, which lives and sleeps underwater, but just like the rest of the turtles, they need oxygen in order to survive. So even if they spend so much time underwater, they still need to get out for air from time to time.

When Do Turtles Sleep?

Most turtles are active during the day and they sleep during the night. But they also tend to take naps when they are basking.

If you own a pet turtle you’ve probably noticed that when basking your turtle tends to extend its legs, close its eyes and stay unmoved for long periods of time. When they do this they are most probably sleeping.

Very rarely some wild turtles will sleep during the day, but they only do this before or after laying eggs.

Do Turtles Sleep Inside Their Shell?

The next thing that you should know is that not all turtles are able to retract to their shells and some turtles, like sea turtles, have soft shells. So for some species, it will do them no favor to retract their shells.

But most turtles do retract in their shells when they are sleeping. They usually do this to hide and protect themselves from predators that could attack them.

A lot of pet turtles will sleep inside their shells even if there are no predators. This is mostly their survival instinct than anything else. So don’t worry if your turtle sleeps inside its shell, it’s perfectly normal.

How Long Do Turtles Sleep?

Turtles usually sleep between 4 and 6 hours during the night. Pet turtles also tend to short naps during the day when they are basking, which can last up to one hour.

But of course, the exact amount of time will differ from species to species, as well as other factors like the age of the turtle, size of the turtle, predators, etc.

Difference Between the Way Pet Turtles and Wild Turtles Sleep

Depending on the environment the sleeping habits of a turtle can change.

A turtle that is born in captivity will not have any experience with predators so they will feel a lot safer and they will not worry too much about safety during their sleep. But that doesn’t mean that they will not take any precautions at all. Even if they haven’t encountered any predators a lot of their ancestors did, and this kind of information is passed down genetically. So instinctively they will take some sort of precaution even if there is no danger present, but not as much as a wild turtle will.

A turtle that has been born in the wild and later became a pet will most likely be as cautious as it usually was. Even if there will be no predators around they will still be very careful due to their experiences.

A wild turtle will usually be as cautious as possible. So they will try and find the safest spot possible to sleep in, and they will rarely be seen napping during the day. There can be some exceptions to this, as some turtles that live in parks get to be accustomed to humans.

Protecting From Predators During Sleep

As I said one of the most important things turtles can do to protect themselves from predators during sleep is to choose a good sleeping spot. But they also have other ways of protecting themselves during sleep.

One way they can protect themselves during sleep is by camouflaging. Some species have shells that blend perfectly with the color of the environment so they will not be easily detected during sleep.

They can also throw sand, mud, dirt, or vegetation on their backs to camouflage themselves.

Turtles also have a very alert sleep, so if there is any sudden movement in their vicinity they will most likely notice and be prepared to run or fight if needed.

Some turtles like to sleep at night on brush piles or tree limbs that place them out of reach of aquatic predators and far enough from the shore to avoid terrestrial predators. The tree limbs also work as an alarm system. If any predator will come too close and will touch them they will vibrate and will alert the turtle.

And one of the best defenses of a turtle can be its size. Some turtles like the Galapagos turtles can grow so big that there will be no predator big enough around them to pose any threat. At this point, these turtles can sleep without any worry whenever and wherever they want.

The Sleeping Habits of Baby Turtles

Baby turtles have similar sleeping habits to adult turtles. I can’t say that there are any significant differences, besides small differences in the duration of sleep, as baby turtles tend to sleep one extra hour.

Final Thoughts

The sleeping habits of turtles are greatly affected by their species and the environment. But as a general idea, you can say that turtles sleep for about 4 to 6 hours a night and they will try to find a place as safe as possible, whether that spot is on land or underwater.

If you have any questions about the sleeping habits of turtles leave them in the comment section and I will answer them as soon as possible.