scared of the dark?

Question
QUESTION: hi mark!
i am just curious. are turtles afraid of the dark? today, i fell asleep for maybe an hour and when i woke up, it was dark outside, and my light wasnt turned on. i turned it on to see that my turtle was in his shell in the corner of the tank. he seemed frightened more than anything else. are turtles afraid of the dark?

ANSWER: I get a lot of joke questions, and I was unsure if this was one but I get the feeling it is not.

Turtles sleep most of the night, but are often active at times. Sudden bright lights, however, startle them badly- since it is not something that happens often in the wild.

I would bet that if you watched your turtle with a low-powered light or dim flashlight, you would find your turtle sleeping more of the time, and occasionally moving around for various reasons.

You can get some great care ideas, etc. at a good site like http://ww.redearslider.com

Good luck!

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QUESTION: hi mark,
thank you for ur last reply, it was funny and informing, so thank you.
i have another one regarding the watt amount on the uvb bulbs for my turtles basking lamp. i have a 10 galleon tank and my turtle is around 6 months old. my 50 watt bulb burnt out and i bought one with 100 watts. is that okay for my turtle? will it be too intense for him or will it burn him? i do not know and i am worried. 100 watts for a 10 galleon tank. please let me know asap. thank you.

Answer
Wattage is not as important as distance- too close=too hot, etc. UVB should be about 12-18" from the turtle's shell when basking.

Just FYI- 10 gallons is pretty small for most turtles. You may want to think about going bigger soon.

Try http://www.turtleforum.com to chat with lots of great keepers!