How Long Can A Yellow Belly Turtle Stay Out Of Water?

  • By: Reptilia Planet
  • Time to read: 4 min.

If you’re a reptile owner, you may be wondering how long your pet can stay out of the water? in this case, “a yellow belly slider”. These types of turtles are particularly known for spending extended periods of time in the water. But, is there a limit to how long they can go without it?

The Yellow Belly Turtle is one of the most aquatic turtles in North America. They are known for their love of water and have been seen to spend long periods submerged. But, how long can a yellow belly turtle stay out of water?

A typical Yellow Belly Turtle will be underwater about 85% of the time, which means they could survive without being in the water for up to 8 hours.

However, their surroundings are also very important and if they’re left outside in the sun too long without shade or access to water, they can overheat and die.

On land, they are very slow-moving creatures so it won’t take much time at all before they succumb to heat exhaustion.

How Much Water Does A Yellow Belly Turtle Need?

How much water does a yellow-bellied turtle need? It all depends on the size of your pet. Typically, a Yellow Belly Turtle should be placed in a water area with at least 10 to 15 gallons.

If you are housing multiple turtles then they will need an even bigger tank as they naturally live and swim with other yellow belly turtle friends. If you have a baby turtle, then they won’t need as much because their size is so small.

You should only need to provide enough water (1 gallon) for them to fit in comfortably with their head above the surface and also be able to completely immerse themselves below the surface.

You don’t want the water too deep or they won’t be able to get out. You also want to provide a basking area for the turtle you can use rocks, driftwood, or fake plants to create ledges that allow them to get out of the water.

Basking is very important for the yellow belly sliders which help them regulate their body temperature!

Do Yellow Belly Turtles Need Water To Survive?

Yes, they do! A yellow-bellied slider cannot go without water for too long, or else it can cause serious health problems or even death. As before, they are freshwater turtles which means you can fill up your aquarium using just tap water.

You don’t need to add any other water features like a filter or heater, however, it is recommended as this will help keep the tank clean and maintain proper health. It’s important that they still have access to fresh drinking water at all times.

Never use salted water as this can be extremely harmful to your turtle and can even cause death!

Saltwater is not suitable for Yellow Belly Turtles. Salt can cause eye damage, skin irritation, and digestion problems which means that your turtle will suffer if they are in saltwater for too long!

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What Happens If They Don’t Get Any Water?

If your turtle doesn’t get any water it will die. They are not able to live for very long without it because their organs begin shutting down, and then they succumb shortly after that.

What Can Happen If They Don’t Get Any Water:

  • They Wont Be Able To Digest Food
  • Suffer From Lack Of Hydration
  • Can Lose Their Eye Sight
  • Skin Will Dry Out

They won’t be able to regulate their body temperature and they will eventually become dehydrated and die.

They also aren’t able to eat or digest food without water, so if you were planning on feeding them then it’s going to be almost impossible!

Their eyesight can worsen because of a lack of hydration as well which means that your turtle may not even realize where the basking area is located within their tank.  

Yellow Belly Turtles need a constant supply of clean fresh water at all times for survival.

If there isn’t enough room in an aquarium to provide a water source for your pet along with a suitable area for them to bask then you should think about getting another enclosure.

You want one that is specifically designed just for turtles so that everything they need is provided inside one habitat instead of two separate ones.

Conclusion

So now you know how Long Can A Yellow Belly Turtle Stay Out Of Water! We hope you enjoyed this blog post on the Yellow Belly Turtle!

Just remember, there are many different types of turtles out there, but this blog post has focused on the yellow-belly turtle.

Just know that it depends on what type of environment they live in and whether or not their habitat is wet enough to provide them with moisture.

So we hope this article helped you understand more about these beautiful animals! Don’t forget to check out our other articles regarding yellow belly sliders and see what else you can learn about these fascinating reptiles.

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