While turtles like spending time in the water they don’t spend all of their time underwater if you notice that your turtle spends a whole lot of time submerged you may wonder why this happens
This article looks into why your turtle spends time underwater
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Why is my turtle underwater?
Turtles are known for their adaptability, they can live in different habitats navigating between land and water, but if the animal spends a lot of time in water you may be concerned
Here is why your turtle spends a lot of time underwater:
It’s still shy:
If you’ve just gotten your turtle then the animal may be shy because it is in a new environment and may prefer to stay in the water.
These animals bask when they feel comfortable but they need a few weeks to feel comfortable in a new space, they will sit underwater a lot of the time when in a new environment
What to do:
The animals will take a couple of weeks to relax and feel comfortable in their new space so give the animal some time, just make sure that the enclosure is comfortable for your pet
What may also help is getting the animal treats so it knows that you aren’t there to harm it.
The animal is drowning:
Another reason why your pet turtle is spending a lot of time underwater may be that the animal is drowning, while these animals can stay underwater for many many minutes, but they can also drown.
What to do:
You can test whether the animal is near drowning by gently bringing him to the surface, if you do this and he doesn’t move then the animal may be drowning.
If you think that this is what’s happening with your pet then you’d need to pump water out of the animal’s lungs.
Start off by putting the animal on your thigh and have the animal’s head pointed out at an angle.
Pump the animal by gently moving the front leg out of the shell and the other leg into the shell. Then switch the pumping to do the other legs.
Do this back-and-forth movement with all the legs and be sure to do this gently, the water will drain out of the animal’s mouth as you pump.
Once you’re done pumping the animal legs go ahead and leave the reptile in a warm place, you can use the animal basking dock, and keep an eye on it. Your pet will revive in an hour or two.
Suboptimal basking area:
Another reason why your pet turtle may choose to stay in the water may be because its basking area is not appealing.
The basking area may not be appealing because it is not easily accessible to him, because the temperature of the basking area is too high, or because the basking area is not dry
What to do:
You can make the basking area more appealing to your turtle to get it to want to come out of the water and bask.
You can help with accessibility by creating a sturdy pile of rocks guiding your pet from the bottom of the tank to the level of the basking platform.
Also, make sure that the basking area is kept dry at all times.
Make sure that it is comfortable and flat, and avoid adding anything with sharp edges that could harm the turtle.
Also, keep the temperature of the basking area between 75 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit.
Avoid trying to force your pet to bask in its basking area as this can be stressful to the turtle,
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other turtle/tortoise related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Why Is My Turtle’s Tank Water Red?, Why Does My Turtle Run From Me, Why Is My Turtle’s Shell Turning Yellow?, Why Is My Yellow Belly Turtle Not Eating?, Why Is My Turtle In Its Shell?, Why Is My Turtle Standing Up?, Why Does My Turtle Look Fuzzy?, Why Is My Turtle Poop White?, Why Is My Turtle Poop Red?,