basking question
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Hi Guys, I have just gotten three hatchlings, one week ago. I set them up indoors in about 1-2 inches of water at about 72-76 degrees. I arranged a 60 watt bulb until a thermometer on the basking rocks registered 80 degrees. None of them ever came out of the water, and I was beginning to worry. Today I forgot to turn on the light (must buy timer) and I didn’t get to the babies until 4pm. All three were up on the rocks, apparently basking – they had their necks out and such. The water was 72 degrees. My question is: was 80 degrees too hot for the basking rock area? Or was 72 degrees in the water too cold, forcing them out? Please, I would love to hear your various recommendations about this. Thank you, Donna McKay (newbie)
The basking area should be around 90 degrees or so. I have a 100W basking spot and they love it. I think a 60W is way too low. They instinctively come out if the basking light is hot enough. By not coming out, they’re telling you it’s a cloudy day! 🙂 72 degrees is OK. 74-78 is normal, and in the summer, even with air conditioning, my water is normally in the low 80’s. In the winter, it seems to go down to the mid/high 70s. Good luck and welcome to the hobby! Walt —–Original Message—– From: mckay07 [mailto:mckay07@…] Sent: Thursday, August 15, 2002 3:16 PM To: diamondbackterrapins@yahoogroups.com Subject: [diamondbackterrapins] basking question Hi Guys, I have just gotten three hatchlings, one week ago. I set them up indoors in about 1-2 inches of water at about 72-76 degrees. I arranged a 60 watt bulb until a thermometer on the basking rocks registered 80 degrees. None of them ever came out of the water, and I was beginning to worry. Today I forgot to turn on the light (must buy timer) and I didn’t get to the babies until 4pm. All three were up on the rocks, apparently basking – they had their necks out and such. The water was 72 degrees. My question is: was 80 degrees too hot for the basking rock area? Or was 72 degrees in the water too cold, forcing them out? Please, I would love to hear your various recommendations about this. Thank you, Donna McKay (newbie) To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: diamondbackterrapins-unsubscribe@egroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
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