Turtles belong to the group of animals that need water just as much as they need land. These creatures are reptiles, which means that they are cold blooded. As a result, it is mandatory for them to regulate their temperature by either cooling down in the water or getting some warmth via sun basking. However, even though they don’t need to stay in the water all the time, the water itself is incredibly important for them. These are semi-aquatic animals and, as a result of that, they can’t stay out of water for too long.
Therefore, in order to be healthy and happy, they have to spend as much time in water as on land. But what if they are unable to reach the water for too long? What is the maximum time the turtles can spend without water near them? Well, dehydration begins very quickly, because usually turtles can stay out of water for only 6 to 12 hours. But what makes this range so different?
What is the reason behind one turtle being able to survive for 6 hours, whereas another can stay out of water for twice as much? What about situations where a turtle can live without water even for 6 months? Yes, it is definitely possible! Well, to make sure you have answers to all the questions, I decided to make use of my knowledge and experience that I gathered throughout the last several years as a turtle owner and help the novice to understand what needs to be done to protect the turtle and how much time we have if we want to change the water in the turtle tank and clean it.
What are the main factors that influence the time your turtle can stay out of water?
But before I delve into some specifics, it is quite important to understand the reasons why some turtles can go on without the water for 6 hours and others’ durability is twice as high. Well, the main cause for such a discrepancy to appear is the climate in which the turtle resides. But also, we should remember about the age of the turtle, the temperature, humidity and some other, less important factors.
Age
One of the most important things as far as the durability of turtles is concerned is, obviously, their age. As these reptiles mature, they become more and more durable in the harsher conditions. And, because of that, they can last without water for longer. Therefore, we should not expect a young, baby turtle to survive without water for longer than 10-12 hours.
Age plays a crucial role, since during the development of the organism there are still some things that younglings are not accustomed to. Juvenile turtles can withstand at least 6-8 hours, so if it escapes the tank or runs away, you still have quite a lot of time to find it – as long as the temperature in your house is not too cold or too hot.
Temperature
As far as the temperature is concerned, the turtles usually want to stay in a colder environment. The hotter the temperature, the less time the reptile has. And because of that, we should never underestimate the weather outside or the degrees inside the house. The reason why temperature plays such a crucial role is because water evaporates faster in higher temperatures.
Sadly, together with higher temperature and water evaporation in the air, the amount of water lowers in the turtle’s body just as well. Therefore, higher temperature directly impacts the time your reptile can withstand without the access to water. The main reason for such an occurrence is that the turtle’s organism is 70-75% made of water. It means that heat affects them even more than humans. And we all know how humans react when it gets too hot or too cold.
The best example is the time humans can survive without water. On average, our body is made of approximately 60% water. Knowing that, the time we can survive without water is around 4 days if there is an ideal temperature for humans – 23 degrees Celsius. The time shortens to only 1-2 days if it reaches 40 degrees. Now, think how turtles react if an even higher percentage of their body is water.
Humidity
Even if age and temperature is quite important, it is humidity that plays the most crucial role. You see, the amount of water that is in the air or in the soil allows these reptiles to stay longer without water because simply the water is everywhere else. It means that they do not get dehydrated so quickly, they can absorb some of the water from moist land, and even drink it from leaves and other places of this kind.
At home, the humidity is always at the level of 40-60%, which is not high for turtles. The turtle occurence maps show that the higher humidity, the more turtles we will find in those areas. It goes without saying that 80-90% humidity will be much better. If we were to guarantee better humidity for our turtles while, at the same time, keeping our own humidity at check, we should think about setting the vaporizers, humidifiers, oil diffusers, and other devices such as these at 55-60%.
Hibernation as the reason why turtles can stay out of water for even 6 months!
Surviving without water for 12 hours is quite a lot for turtles in normal conditions. However, did you know that it is possible for a turtle to manage without access to water for even 6 months? Well, they achieve that only by hibernating. Yet, it is still possible to do! When turtles decide to hibernate, they look for quiet and safe areas.
There, they succumb into a very deep sleep. During this sleep, their metabolism drops drastically. Their heart and other organs function, but the heart beat and other processes are extremely slowed down. All these things are so slow that their heart beats once every 10 minutes. Only once. For comparison, their normal heart rate is about 25 beats a minute, which is 250 times less than usual.
As a result of that, they don’t need to worry about the functioning of the body – they do not need food or air to breathe. Nor do they have to worry about water. Keep in mind that hibernating is a choice for turtles and they do that mostly during winter. It is; however, not necessary if you keep your pet in a tank with an ideal temperature and environment.
What makes turtles like water so much?
Since you now know how crucial it is for turtles to spend so much time in water, let’s now find out why exactly turtles like water and are attracted to it. Well, first of all we need to remember that turtles have lungs. As a result, they are unable to stay too long underwater without breathing in air. Still, they evolved in a way it is possible to stay beneath the surface of water for 40 to even 60 minutes. Therefore, it is more than certain that they are definitely accustomed to staying in the water for longer periods of time.
But how come these reptiles have to do that? Well, it is all because of the way they evolved. You see, hundreds of thousands or even million years ago turtles were mainly land animals. The only reason for them to need water is to drink it and stay hydrated. However, they were unable to defend themselves from predators. So, they started to spend more and more time in the water, since there were fewer threats. Nowadays, they have adapted their bodies to water environments so much, they are much more reliant on water to survive than before.
Now you know how long turtles stay out of water!
Turtles are reptiles that require water to stay alive. Their organisms adjusted to the new environment to such an extent it is impossible for them to stay out of water for a longer period of time. The only exception is when they hibernate. However, in such a situation, they don’t need anything – air, food, or water. Turtles are very connected to marine habitats.
The maximum time that turtles can last without water is no longer than 10-12 hours in normal conditions. Obviously, they can go on without water for a bit longer, and it is possible to prolong that time thanks to many different environmental and biological factors (such as temperature, humidity, or age of the turtle). Still, you have to remember that if you don’t want to risk any major health issues, you should never leave a turtle without access to its water for longer than 12 hours.
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