Habitat - Indoor :: What To Do When Water Heater Sudeenly Breaks

[Turtle Mummy 101]

Is there any homemade solution to keep water temperature steady until you can get a new water heater????

[steve]

Keep the room temperature warm. DO NOT ADD HOT WATER INTO A TANK.

How did it break?

[Turtle Mummy 101]

I moved her into the furnace room a few hours ago, where its about 25 degrees C and put some extra light on the tank. I'm going out tonight after work to get a new heater. The water is quite cold though (about 15 degrees, when I last took a reading!) I'm worried she's in the death zone and will go into shock!!

I don't know how it broke? It was working fine for the first day and a half. Then late last night I noticed it wasen't keeping the water at a consistent temperature and then it stopped working altogether

[adam85491]

60 F is really cold. You'd be better of dry docking the turtle in my opinion. Get a small rubbermaid container and put a towl on the bottom of it and a add a low, shallow dish of water. I know this is usually done for sick turtles, but I can't imagine leaving the turtle in such cold water.

You can't add boiling water to the tank, it will shatter or cause a dangerous temperature spike. It's also not advised to add hot water from the tap, but it would be fine to add water warmed up from the stove, gradually as to not cause a temperature spike. Depends on the size of the tank if that will be useful though.

Was it a glass heater? Those are no good in my opinion. I have a submerisble stealth heater...it's pretty much impossible to break. I've left it out of water and on completely and it did not shatter. I had a glass thermometer that my turtles managed to break, so I avoid glass if possible. Even if it did not break, what brand is it and what wattage is it? At any rate, get a new heater asap.

[vear]

Hey - is your furnace room small?? Sometimes Carbon Monoxide builds up in those rooms - you can't smell it or feel it, but it will replace the oxygen in the blood to the point where no more oxygen can bind. Please be very careful with this because if there is carbon monoxide build up in there your turtle would become really lethargic until it falls asleep forever.

[adam85491]

CO won't just build up in a furnace room. They're designed with fans to remove any waste, but if it goes faulty the entire house will be exposed, and it won't just be the turtle in danger. Is a furnace room ideal? No, but it won't kill the turtle. I'd be more concerned with the water temperature.

[vear]

CO won't just build up in a furnace room. They're designed with fans to remove any waste, but if it goes faulty the entire house will be exposed, and it won't just be the turtle in danger. Is a furnace room ideal? No, but it won't kill the turtle. I'd be more concerned with the water temperature.

I only mentioned it because it happened to somebody I know. They sat in the furnace room for a couple of minutes (I don't know why...) but they started passing out. My friend went in there and found the person barely conscious. The people in the rest of the house were ok. :\

[adam85491]

Well it would start there, obviously, but it wouldn't finish there. CO leaks occur from a malfunctioning furnace, not a properly working one.

Think about it. If you cook something in the kitchen, does the smell not eventually reach the other rooms?

[Turtle Mummy 101]

adam85491: Yes, it was a glass heater. I bought the same one they were using in the pet store where I got my RES. I'm going out tonight after work to pick up a new heater and hopefully this time it'll last more than 2 days!!

vear: My furnace room is pretty large and I have a carbon monoxide detector in the room. Plus I just had my furnace checked last week and its working properly - so i'm not too worried about that. But thanks for the info, it's still good to know