How long can a red-eared turtle be without water, how long will it live on land

The red-eared turtle can be without water for 2-3 hours. Cases have been recorded when the animal hid on land for 1-2 days. However, it cannot live completely on land, so a long stay outside the aquarium is fraught with negative health consequences and even death.

How long can a turtle live without water

The red-eared turtle is a reptile that spends most of its time in the water. Such a turtle comes out on land only for a few hours a day to warm up. The body temperature of a reptile is not constant, it depends on the environment. Therefore, the turtle is forced to regularly take sunbaths.

The total duration of being on land is 1-2 hours a day. This is the optimal time within which the reptile can do without the aquatic environment. However, if the red-eared turtle is on land for 3 hours or more in a row, its shell begins to dry out. This leads to the formation of small cracks through which infection can enter.

Thus, keeping this animal without water is strictly unacceptable. It is noted that young individuals are especially sensitive to the lack of moisture – they practically cannot live on land. Adult individuals can do without the aquatic environment during the day (maximum 3 days). However, it is better not to risk and not let the pet run away from your aquarium for a long time.

Consequences of being without water for a long time

If the aquatic turtle ran away from the aquarium or the owner lost sight of it, in time it will live from 1 to 3 days, after which serious health problems will begin:

1. The pet may be injured due to falling, collision with obstacles.
2. She can get stuck in a cramped place, a secluded corner, which is why it will not be possible to find the turtle right away.
3. The surface of the shell begins to delaminate, and microcracks appear on the skin.
4. The skin peels off, the surface fades.
5. Fungi and other microorganisms penetrate the cracks, which leads to the development of inflammation and infectious diseases.
6. With a long stay outside the aquarium, the reptile becomes very lethargic, loses its appetite for a while.

If the red-eared turtle is left without water for 4 days or more, it may die. To prevent this from happening, you need to keep the turtle carefully and not allow it to walk around the apartment for a long time, or even more so on the street. If the turtle is lost and does not appear within a few hours, it is better to start an active search. The animal could simply get stuck or roll over, and it would not be able to free itself.

To find it, you should go around all the inaccessible places, and also put basins of water in them. If the pet fell asleep, upon awakening, he himself will find containers to dip into them. It is important to understand that the red-eared turtle cannot live long without water. No less dangerous is the fact that she climbs very actively in different places, so she can get stuck in any gorge.

What to do if the red-eared turtle has been on land for a long time

The found pet must be carefully picked up and carefully examined for damage. If there are no injuries, cuts, dirt, foreign objects should be removed from the surface and the animal should immediately be placed in water (normal temperature is from 25 ° C to 28 ° C). Further, the pet will begin to show activity itself – most likely, it will quickly dive into the thickness and stay for some time in the aquatic environment.

If the animal has been on land for too long, it has clearly weakened, become lethargic. Therefore, it should be provided with sufficient food. In the event that he ended up on a balcony or in another cool place, it is important to worry about warming up, i.e. turn on the lamp. If the turtle does not feel better after a few hours, contact your veterinarian immediately.

Is it normal if the animal is constantly in the water

The red-eared turtle cannot be kept without water, however, it is also harmful for it to constantly stay in the aquarium. The pet must have a reliable island on which he will get out to warm himself. It is equally important to walk the turtle, especially if its aquarium is not large enough (less than 100 liters). This should be done under supervision, preferably only indoors, so as not to lose sight of the turtle.

However, the animal will still spend most of its time underwater. Moreover, it can generally do without air for several hours in a row (the world record is 10 hours and 14 minutes). Therefore, a long stay of a turtle under water is quite normal if it alternates with walks around the island and outside the aquarium.

Only land turtles can do without aquatic environment completely. This family includes 57 different animals, the most famous include:

• asian;
• Central Asian;
• mediterranean;
• radiant.

Thus, the red-eared turtle must have free access to water – most of the time it will spend in this environment. But the pet also needs land walks in safe places. Staying on land for more than 1-2 hours in a row is undesirable.