Habitat - Indoor :: Heater - can it burn the turtle?

[drummer queen]

I'm going to put in a heater that came with the aquarium but I'm not sure it's safe for my turtle... It's looks like it's made out of glass, and although it seems like it'd be impossible for Georgie to break it or anything like that, I'm concerned that he might burn himself. Is that possible?

I've never had a heater before but I assume that it's surface will get hot. I think it might be made more for fish but I'm not sure, that's why I'm asking these questions. I thought that if the fish wouldn't burn themselves then the turtle should be ok, am I right or not? Thanks!

[SpotsMama]

Help me here - how big is Georgie?

In general, the heater won't burn the turtle as long as the hot part is under water. The heat dissapates very rapidly in the cool water.

A turtle can, however, break a glass thermometer by biting it. Before your turtle gets very big you probably should change out the glass one for a plastic one like the Visitherm Stealth.

[grey goose]

When you have a glass heater with no guards, placement is important. Don't mount it opposite or across from the basking ramp. This way when they fly off the ramp (when you walk in the room) they wont crash into it. Also, turts love to wedge themselves into tight spaces. Youngsters could burn their legs this way.....

[kneenuh]

I had one of those. I don't know about it burning the turtle.....but if you empty the tank don't forget to turn off your heater! I forgot to unplug mine once when I emptied the tank, and it got so hot, and shattered when I moved it.

I invested in a really nice heater now, shatter-proof, and I do not forget to turn it off when I changed the water now. heehh...

[drummer queen]

Yeah, the hot part will be under water. Georgie is 3.75" long and the heater is about .75" in diameter and 10" long.

I really don't see how he could possibly break it but I'll look into getting a different heater eventually.

[BullDog]

I had one of those. I don't know about it burning the turtle.....but if you empty the tank don't forget to turn off your heater! I forgot to unplug mine once when I emptied the tank, and it got so hot, and shattered when I moved it.

Yikes! I've got all of my turtley things (lights, heater and filter) on a power bar, so whenever I'm working in the tank, I just turn off the power bar.

I've got a glass Hagen heater, and the heater I've had previous was also glass. I've never had a problem with it getting too hot. In fact - A while back I was trying to put it back in the suction cup (Ralph likes to pop it out of the suction cup brace ) and I then I saw the little light was on! It only felt a little warm - if that, on my skin.

[DavidY]

The smaller water heaters (100w or less) won't get too hot but the higher wattage ones will especially if it's been on for a while. Usually once the tank is at the desired temperature, the heater will only come on for a few seconds at a time to maintain the temp, so it shouldn't get too hot to the touch.

[SpotsMama]

I forgot to unplug a glass one awhile back when I was cleaning the tank and when I refilled the tank with cool water it exploded. Rather dramatic. Since then I've done like BullDog and put everything on a power bar. Also got a shatterproof Visitherm Stealth heater (two actually) and also had a GFCI outlet installed. I don't care to electrocute my turtle!

[marsspyder]

drummer queen- i dont think you should have a problem with your heater. it sounds like you have the same on i do and i had it stuck to a rubbermade tub for almost two years and it didnt melt, warp or injure anything. my algae eaters also suck on it once in a great while and it doesnt bother fish lips, so i dont think it would hurt your turt

[iac637]

our turtles have touched our heater and they don't seem to have a problem. I wouldn't worry to much

[marisa]

Your turtle shouldn't get burned by the heater as long as the heater is in the water. If it's breakable (or even it's not) keep objects like rocks away from it.