How Long Can Turtles Go Without Basking?

As we all know turtles dedicate a good portion of their daily time to basking, but they don’t do this simply because they like to take a nap in the sun, they do it because it keeps them healthy. So, does this mean that anything bad will happened if they skip a day or two? How long can a turtle go without basking?

On average turtles bask for 2 to 6 hours per day, but they can go without basking for entire weeks without any repercussions. Basking helps turtles in order to regulate their body temperature, process vitamin D, and get rid of bacteria on their shell.

Now let’s take a closer look and see exactly how long can turtles go without basking, and what factors can make that time period longer or shorter.

How Long Can a Turtle Go Without Basking? (And What Can Happen)

On average a turtle can go without basking for 4 weeks. After that, there is a chance that health problems will start to appear.

But as you can imagine, there are a few factors that come into play that can either increase or decrease that 4 weeks period. And the most important one is temperature.

Temperature

One of the main reasons turtles bask is to regulate their body temperature, as they are cold-blooded animals that can’t generate their own body heat. So, if it’s winter and the temperature starts to drop, and your turtle doesn’t have any place to bask, its body temperature will start to decrease.

This won’t have a negative impact on your turtle immediately, but it will slowly start to weaken its immunity system, and this can lead to a lot of health problems.

So if the temperature around the tank is low, 3 weeks seems more realistic than 4.

Bacteria

Another thing that basking does is that it removes the bacteria that get stuck on the shell and skin of a turtle. As we all know turtles are not the cleanest pets, their tanks can go from sparkling clean to a total mess in just a few days. And in this mess live a lot of harmful bacteria.

When turtles bask those bacteria are destroyed by the intense heat of the basking area. If a turtle doesn’t bask for long periods of time, the bacteria will keep on gathering, and while a few won’t do any harm, a lot of bacteria combined with a weakened immune system can do a lot of harm.

Vitamin D

Unlike most vitamins that come from fruits and vegetables, vitamin D comes from the sun. Simply sitting in the sun will create vitamin D. And in the case of pet turtles, the sun is replaced by the UVB bulb in the basking area.

Vitamin D helps turtles process calcium, which is what keeps their shells, and bone structure healty. Without vitamin D, their shells and bones will start to become softer and more fragile.

While this is not an immediate problem, it can be one with lasting effects, as turtles’ shells are extremely hard to heal, and in most cases, any shell affection will remain forever.

Improper Basking Area

If a turtle doesn’t have a proper basking area from the start, it won’t be able to last too long without one.

If a turtle already had problems with temperature, bacteria, and vitamin D, taking away the little he had, won’t allow it to last for too long, one or two weeks at most.

So if you have to leave your turtle alone for a few days, and you can’t turn on the basking area, you have to make sure that the basking area was in order in the first place, otherwise, things might not go so well for your turtle.

How to Make the Perfect Basking Area

The basking area has 3 main parts, the basking platform, the heat bulb, and the UVB bulb.

The Basking Platform

The basking platform is simply a platform on which the turtle can sit in order to bask. You can either do it yourself or buy one from Amazon, all that it matters is that your turtle can easily get into it and that it’s stable.

The Heat Bulb

Heat bulbs come with different wattages, most of them being either 50, 75, or 100. But you can also find some that are 150. So, which one should you pick? Wich one is the best?

There is no such thing as a general best wattage, but there is the best wattage for each specific situation. So let’s figure out what is the best wattage for you.

In order to give an answer that will fit your setup and your turtle, we need to know two things.

The first is what temperature you can expect from a light bulb at certain distances. And second, what turtle species do you have.

Now, let’s start with the first.

Here is a chart that I made showing what temperature you should expect to achieve using different powered light bulbs at certain distances.

50 Watts	75 Watts	100 Watts	150 Watts
Distance	Temperature	Distance	Temperature	Distance	Temperature	Distance	Temperature
4 inches	104°F	4 inches	120°F	4 inches	131°F	4 inches	144°F
8 inches	81°F	8 inches	91°F	8 inches	113°F	8 inches	131°F
12 inches	73°F	12 inches	81°F	12 inches	90°F	12 inches	126°F

To make this chart I used a laser thermometer and the average temperature of the room was 75°Farenheit (24°Celsius), so you might get slightly different results depending on the temperature of your room, but unless the difference is massive the temperature of the basking area should be similar.

As for the bulbs, I’ve been using these bulbs for a few years, but from my experience, all heat bulbs are very similar, so you can use whichever you like the most. But, make sure to avoid mercury vapor bulbs, I will explain shortly why,

Now that you know what temperature to expect from a heat bulb, based on distance and wattage, it’s time to see what temperature you actually need.

Overall most turtles require a similar temperature range, but if you want to get into detail, they are slightly different. And here is a list of the most common pet turtles and their ideal basking area temperatures:

Turtle Species	Temperature Fahrenheit	Temperature Celsius
Red Eared Slider	90 – 95°F	32 – 35°C
Juvenile Red Eared Slider	95 – 100°F	29 – 37°C
Box Turtle	80 – 90°F	26 – 32°C
Juvenile Box Turtle	90 – 95°F	32 – 35°C
Map Turtle	75 – 80°F	24 – 26°C
Juvenile Map Turtle	80 – 90°F	26 – 32°C
Mud Turtle	90 – 95°F	32 – 35°C
Juvenile Mud Turtle	90 – 100°F	32 – 37°C
Musk Turtle	85 – 90°F	29 – 32°C
Juvenile Musk Turtle	90 – 100°F	32 – 37°C
Snapping Turtle	90 – 95°F	32 – 35°C
Juvenile Snapping Turtle	95 – 100°F	29 – 37°C
Pond Turtle	85 – 95°F	29 – 35°C
Juvenile Pond Turtle	90 – 100°F	32 – 37°C
Cooter	80 – 85°F	26 – 29°C
Juvenile Cooter	90 – 100°F	32 – 37°C

As you can see juvenile turtles, which means younger turtles that can’t be classified as adults, will require a temperauter that is slightly higher than that of an adult, but overall the difference is not that significant.

The UVB Bulb

When it comes to choosing UVB bulbs things are a little more 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 comes from a reputable manufacturer, and I will provide links to Amazon, where you can get them

Zoo Med
UVB Bulb	Distance
ReptiSun 5.0 Mini CFL	5 inches
ReptiSun 5.0 CFL	7 inches
ReptiSun 10.0 Mini CFL	7 inches
ReptiSun 10.0 CFL	10 inches
ReptiSun 5.0 T8 Linear	6 inches
ReptiSun 5.0 T5 Linear	8 inches
PowerSun 80W	7 inches
PowerSun 100W	10 inches
PowerSun 160W	22 inches

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.

At this point, you are probably wondering, isn’t there a bulb that produces both UVB light and heat? Do I really need to have two bulbs, why can’t there be only one that does both things? And the answer is yes, there is a bulb that can do both things, but in my opinion, you should avoid it.

Bulbs That You Should Stay Away From

The bulb that produces both UVB light and heat is called a mercury vapor bulb, and while on paper it sounds like a great way to replace the two bulbs, it has one major flaw, it tends to explode.

Over the years there have been a lot of cases of exploding mercury vapor bulbs, and most of them happened out of a sudden.

So, overall I would recommend you to stay away from them. While not all mercury vapor bulbs will explode, I still don’t believe that the risk is worth it.

Final Thoughts

Turtles can go very long periods of time without basking, without any repercussions. But if this goes on for too long, a month, for example, your turtle might end up with health problems.

If you wanted to take a vacation and you wanted to know if your turtle will be fine for a few days without a basking area, then the answer is yes, as long as you return in two or three weeks your turtle should be fine.

I hope this article answered all of your questions, but in case there is something else that you would like to know, don’t hesitate to leave a question in the comment area below, I will answer all questions as soon as I see them.