Habitat - Indoor :: Basking Lamp?

[Sukrita]

Hi,
I got my two RES hatchlings about a week ago, and they have a large tub to swim around in. The climate here is pretty warm and water temperatures don't get colder than 20 degrees C, so I didn't think it was necessary to buy a water heater. They do, however, have a floating basking dock made out of mount board (they're really tiny, and they seem quite satisfied with it ).
How important would it be for me to get a basking lamp? Their tub is in the balcony, which gets a little sunlight in the morning until a few hours after noon, and they seem to be basking quite often otherwise as well... could supplements or something like that be used instead, if they aren't getting enough vitamin D?

[steve]

A water heater is good to help warm up the water after a cleaning or change. Since you have hatchlings, I would strongly consider one to help maintain stable temperatures.

I wouldn't recommend a tub on a balcony... are they exposed to drafts? Is the tub too small? Do you measure them temperatures throughout the day?

[SpotsMama]

On the vitamin D, there are some turtle keepers that feel vitamin D supplements are an adequate substitute for basking under UVB light but they are in the minority. Metabolism is a very complex thing and turtles are supposed to live a long time, so if something subtle is missing in artificial vitamin D as opposed to UVB light, then it might not show up as a problem for a long time, so people relying on artifical vitamin D could think everything is ok over the short term but be harming their turtles over the long term. My feeling is, and I think a lot of turtle keepers share it, is that it's best to provide conditions as close to nature as possible because it's too hard to anticipate everything that nature provides in an artificial manner.

So, this site says yes, it's necessary to provide good UVB light for a turtle's long term good health. You can't go wrong with it. It's kind of a pain at first and seems expensive, but really once you get the setup down and get used to it then you don't even think about it any more.

[marisa]

"The climate here is warm..." Where are you?

What's the water temp in their tub? The basking area temp? You need to check both with a thermometer, and it would be good to do it at different times of the day. Water temp for hatchlings should be constant at around 78F (which I think is about 26C), and if this can't be provided naturally, a water heater would be good. Hatchlings are more sensitive to warmth than older turtles.

When do they start to get sun and for how long are they exposed to it? You said for a few hours after noon...until 2:00 pm? 3:00pm?

What is their diet like?

[Sukrita]

steve - No, I don't think the tub is too small, it's three feet in diameter...
And no, they aren't exposed to drafts, as like I said, it doesn't get too cold here, just slight breezes in the night. Do I need to measure water temperatures? I just check it with my hand if it's cool or alright.
marisa - I'm in South India. They start to get sunlight around ten thirty or eleven, until two or so. I feed them pellets everday, and I tried carrot but they didn't eat any.

How necessary is it to get a heater? They're quite active for most of the day; they usually sleep when it gets dark so I don't disturb them much then. They eat well and are quite alert (to people and sounds)... how could one tell if they seem distressed about anything?

[marisa]

The hours they getting sunlight are good.

You need to check the temps with a thermomter, not rely on your hand. Check them at different times of the day (and at night), so you know how much the temp fluctuates.

If you know your turtles, any behavior that's out if the norm would indicate they're distressed about something or possibly ill.