Contrary to popular belief, turtles are demanding creatures, we can’t just leave them there to “live”.
Some of them are calm pets, some of them are very active. But regardless of the species, they require special and particular care… or they will get sick.
It’s important to be aware of the different requirements your species have, mainly when it comes to housing, space, lighting, feeding or diet.
In this article we will talk about a particular but hugely important area of turtle housing, named basking.
Basking is a necessity for turtles. It’s not an option for them. In fact, some of them are considered partially aquatic and partially land turtles, because in their natural habitats they spend as much time in the water as they do out in the land. Even though it seems as if they were just playing around, they’re actually addressing a health matter that is vital for their well-being.
Since turtles are cold-blooded, regulating their own internal temperature is not possible for them, which is why basking is a must to be able to dry out and warm up. By doing that properly they prevent moisture to grow, avoiding a number of both physical and mental health conditions.
Now, imagine yourself being subjected to low temperatures without a coat, the possibility of doing some physical heating or access to some kind of external heat, such as a campfire, or simply the sun. You will very likely develop hypothermia overtime and will get in a bad mood.
That’s not too different to what our little turtle friends are experiencing if we don't create an environment that encourages them to bask.
Without basking, fungal infections will occur because moisture and fungus will grow due to the fact that turtles are not able to get dry.
When basking, access to UV light should be granted. This helps to keep turtles warm and produce vitamin D3, so that they can metabolize calcium and prevent bone and shell growth problems, as well as calcium metabolism issues.
The basking platforms being sold out there seem to have the concept twisted. The idea is not to decorate an aquarium with ocean-like objects. The objective is to provide the perfect conditions so that turtles have incentives to bask.
Right now there are basking platforms that release materials like dye, paint, glue or artificial grass. Those things can be a problem both for our turtles and for the proper functioning of our aquariums. That is happening because we’re being sold things as if the goal was to decorate an aquarium.
Example of a basking platform that will release unsuitable materials, in this case, artificial grass
Also, some the current options are designed to stick to the aquarium using suction cups, which are proved to be a terrible tool because glue doesn’t last very long and even when suction cups are working, the platform staggers. If that happens, turtles get afraid when trying to get on it and eventually stop and don't bask.
We need to be able to adjust the height when necessary, depending on the level of the water and the height of the UV lamp. With suction cups we can’t do that.
Example of a basking platform that will be a problem for several reasons:
paint releasing, staggering, hard to get on, water stagnation.
Some of them are just too hard to get on because of thickness. Turtles have a hard time trying, until they stop.
Others look like a rock from the ocean or something like that. The problem is that these have reliefs and holes where the water stagnates, therefore the surface and as a consequence the turtles can never get dry enough. Also, these ones release dye and paint in the water.
Example of a basking platform that will be a problem for several reasons:
dye releasing, staggering, hard to get on, impossible to get totally dry.
There’s a kind of platform that has a black gripe tape designed to help turtles stick their nails in it and get on the ramp without slipping. But the glue and tape are damaged by the water and peel off, rendering the ramp useless and releasing glue in the water.
Example of a basking platform that will be useless in no time.
Water will damage the tape, releasing glue in the water. Turtles will slip.
Last but not least, all of these things will make turtles to feel stress, anxiety and fear.
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