Indoor DBT Burying Itself?

jeuts310

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Hi there. I have a juvenile Northern DBT, he's about 6 months old. He's currently inside in a tank with a 80 degree water temperature with weekly water changes. He has a basking area and UVB light. I'm a little worried about him because within the last week he has started to sleep a bit more and attempt to bury himself in the sand substrate. It sounds like he's starting brumation, but he's inside and his water is warm!

Can anyone help me explain what's going on? Thank you all!
 

jeff kushner

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Wow, that's a beautiful turtle. I caught a baby one down in Ocean City back in the 90's and didn't have that experience. The water was kept a little cooler at 78F but it never displayed that behavior.

You may well be correct about it's DNA kicking in. Has he ever lived outdoors?

(hang in there, some real talent will show up)
 

jeuts310

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Hi Jeff, thanks for the reply! I love Ocean City, I actually have a picture of Assateague Island as the background of my little guys tank :)

But no, he's never been outside before. He was captive bred by a breeder in Illinois and I've kept him inside since I got him. The thought of brumating outside/keeping him outside just makes me nervous. Too many animals in our yard for my liking!
 

Markw84

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That is behavior that is indicative of brumation. Diamond back terrapins will often dig into the sand or soil and brumate there above high water mark. Many aquatics will brumate underwater, but I've seen many Diamondbacks choose to dig in instead.

Although water temperature is high, it is photoperiod and intensity of UVA that seem to be key brumation triggers. For temperate species I like to have at least a 14-15 hour photoperiod to keep them active with good bright light and at least midday UV Light. N American summers are 15 hours light / 9 hours dark.
 

jeuts310

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Thank you Mark! I currently have the light and UV light on from 11am-9pm. I'll adjust the light to be on longer and the UV on only during mid-day. I was also thinking it's been 6 months since I purchased my UV bulb and I know they are supposed to be repurchased about that timeframe. Maybe it's losing it's intensity?
 

Markw84

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Thank you Mark! I currently have the light and UV light on from 11am-9pm. I'll adjust the light to be on longer and the UV on only during mid-day. I was also thinking it's been 6 months since I purchased my UV bulb and I know they are supposed to be repurchased about that timeframe. Maybe it's losing it's intensity?
What type and brand of UVB? I use Arcadia T5 and have mine running for over 2 and even 3 years with still good UVI readings. I do only have them on 4-5 hour per day, however. A solarmeter is really the only way to tell if they need replacing.

For the aspect of inducing summer-like behavior, the UVA is really the most important part of the UV spectrum for that and I'm sure your current bulb is still producing plenty of UVA. However, the UVB is still important for D3 production and calcium utilization, so do be sure you have a good bulb for that over the winter.
 

jeuts310

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I am using a Zoo Med Reptisun 5.0 UVB bulb. His shell is only about 3ish inches long (head to tail) so I thought at his size, he only needed UVB? He is my first turtle and even though I did a lot of research before adopting him, I know I still have a lot to learn so please feel free to let me know if I misunderstood what he needs at this point. I will not take it the wrong way :)

For all I know, the talk about UV bulbs needing to be replaced every 6 months could be like when they say filter cartridges need to be replaced every 3 months in fish tanks (I have been keeping fish for years!) so apologies if that's a newb misconception haha!
 
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Markw84

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I am using a Zoo Med Reptisun 5.0 UVB bulb. His shell is only about 3ish inches long (head to tail) so I thought at his size, he only needed UVB? He is my first turtle and even though I did a lot of research before adopting him, I know I still have a lot to learn so please feel free to let me know if I misunderstood what he needs at this point. I will not take it the wrong way :)

For all I know, the talk about UV bulbs needing to be replaced every 6 months could be like when they say filter cartridges need to be replaced every 3 months in fish tanks (I have been keeping fish for years!) so apologies if that's a newb misconception haha!
UVB is not that much of a concern with aquatics as they can get so much vit D from their food. IF you feed a good pellet - Mazuri aquatic, Reptomin, etc. there will be plenty of vit D. The UVA is a consideration though for Keeping your turtle thinking its summer. The bulb you have should still be putting out plenty of UVA.
 

jeuts310

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UVB is not that much of a concern with aquatics as they can get so much vit D from their food. IF you feed a good pellet - Mazuri aquatic, Reptomin, etc. there will be plenty of vit D. The UVA is a consideration though for Keeping your turtle thinking its summer. The bulb you have should still be putting out plenty of UVA.
Good to know! I do feed him Mazuri Aquatic Turtle and every once in a while the Flukers River Shrimp and thawed shrimp from the grocery store.

Do you think that the 5.0 UVB is good to still be using or do you think it needs to be upgraded? I also need to invest in something to test the temperature of his basking area. Also, would you mind letting me know if/when is a good time to introduce a heat bulb? Isn't that around 4" of shell size?

I appreciate you taking the time to help me out with all of this :)

-Jennifer
 

jeff kushner

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LOL...some folks are just lucky.....

See Newbie...told you the real talent would show up! Thanks Mark for making me look good, again:))

The pure white NON-sticking sand of Assateague....yeah, that really is nice there. Kerry & I did the "nature walks" there but it was before she armed herself with twin holstered Thermacell gas fired repellents so the ones with landing gear don't haul her away, so we only got a couple of miles. Just don't be one those fools who wants to pet or feed the wild horses....I can't tell you how many times I've seen that go bad for folks. It's rarely the "pet-er" that gets hurt, it's the guys on the beach or parking lot trampled as those 600 lb beasts run off.


OC used to be a lot nicer when they had natural sand, not pumped gravely seabed but I always liked the flavor of the town. I lived down there one summer and worked at Tony's pizza(tossed pies in the window too) & Anthony's subs........of COURSE I did...a young man in MD? Hmmmm, don't know what the "draw" could have been but I had a great time from early April till mid Aug when they(OC's Finest) asked Jeffrey to leave.....I did&they relented, all was well. What an education THAT was for a 16 y/o who thought he was 27.............13-80CBS!

Sounds like your little guy is off to a great start....
 

Markw84

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Good to know! I do feed him Mazuri Aquatic Turtle and every once in a while the Flukers River Shrimp and thawed shrimp from the grocery store.

Do you think that the 5.0 UVB is good to still be using or do you think it needs to be upgraded? I also need to invest in something to test the temperature of his basking area. Also, would you mind letting me know if/when is a good time to introduce a heat bulb? Isn't that around 4" of shell size?

I appreciate you taking the time to help me out with all of this :)

-Jennifer
A lot depends upon your setup and what type fixture can be accomodated. I really like the Arcadia Shade dweller for turtles. A small 12" tube fixture with a 7% T5 UVb tube https://www.reptilebasics.com/t5-light-fixtures/shadedweller-prot5-uvb-kit-12/

I always use basking light/heat over turtles from the time they hatch. Ability to bask and raise body temps up into the 90°s is important for overall health. A low wattage incandescent is best in a hood to direct heat more downward.
 
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