BASKING WITH TURTLES

I saw my first turtles of 2018 basking on a log.  But why do they bask?  Turtles bask for a few reasons.  Basking in the sunshine helps warm turtles up.  They are ectotherms (using the environment to regulate their body temperature).  If they are to cold, then they can’t move efficiently or digest their food properly.  Turtles also gain heat from the surface they are basking on.  You know this phenomenon!  Remember the last time you tried to walk barefoot outside – grass was good, cement was hot, asphalt…was your fault.  Basking in the sunlight also helps turtles produce vitamin D which helps in the absorption of calcium from food and subsequent metabolism to form their bones and shell.  Basking can also help turtles deal with freeloading ectoparasites (parasites living on the outside of the body) like leeches.  It can also help dry up that nasty algal growth.  Bask on turtles!