Can Painted Turtles See In The Dark?

I found my painted turtle likely to be able to move through the dark tank and even sometimes I found him moving better than when he does it in the lights. As a result, I got surprised that painted turtles can see in the environment of light off.

Yes, and I can say it definitely that turtles see in the places where there is the absence of light, but they do it in the same way we, human being see something. However, turtles neither have any kind of night vision nor infrared to get help from those to get a better look at the dark. It necessarily doesn’t suggest that they’re also able to see the world similarly if they aren’t able to see in the dark better than us.

How Painted Turtles See Colors?

A few years ago, people believed that turtles’ eye vision is not good enough and it was also believed that they even don’t see colors as we see. But, if you look at the recent researches, you’ll find that they’re not just able to see colors, they’re also able to see more colors than we see.

Moreover, the researches have suggested that birds and turtles pose a gene named CYP2J19. And surprisingly the gene has been found out back 250 million years when it was the time of the dinosaur named Archosaur. When it comes to the Archosaur, it was a strange creature and it’s believed that it had a rough skin with a head alike to a bird, but it had a nose similar to a pig rather than a beak.

Although it didn’t look too bad as it’s described, they’re just the things that have the similarity with their appearance. As the gene lets a few turtle and bird species to see much more shades of a red color than we do, this genre is also known as the red gene. Since every animal is coming with color receptors in their eyes, they can see colors.

Each of the turtle types can identify a certain amount of colors. After that, they can send the signal to their brain where they get processed and displayed accordingly. Besides, possibly they have additional types of cones as well.

Can Turtles See in the Dark?

Yes, turtles are able to see in the dark despite the contrary to what many people believe. But, they don’t do as much better as we do and some of the nocturnal animals and reptiles like cats as well as owls are more seem to be better modified to see properly when they’re in the dark.

As the largest part of the turtles and human are diurnal beings with most dynamic when it’s day time, it means that when the sun is there to help enlighten the whole thing, all of us are more modified to see. And ranging from the red to ultraviolet, they have color vision along with their cone subtypes with sensitivities.

How Do Painted Turtles See in The Dark?

Like the same way we see, turtles see in the dark as well, but they just see the colors a bit of different that are the variation with us. Also, with the exception of the fact that they see a bit of more red that human being can see, you’ll not find a significant difference.

The difference is clear in the sky where there is still a slight light, but there is no difference in any way in the forest where you can see nothing. As a result, you’ll be not able to see anything when you keep your lights off in your room and it’s entirely dark around you. But, you’ll find that your eyes will start seeing things once again if you stay some time in a dark room and the same thing happens to turtles.

Can Painted Turtles See Underwater?

Most of the generic, for example, the sea turtles spend the biggest part of their life in water. Now, you can ask how they see underwater or under an endless sea. For your knowledge build up, the turtles can see at the same way and the same length as they see on the landside. It means that they can see things in the same way that they see on the water with the exact colors and sizes.

But, when they go to the dirty water, they feel somehow uneasy to see properly. As a result, the turtles are not able to see at distant when they’re in unclear and dirty water. And it’s the type of thing that human beings also get affected in a similar situation.

Apart from those, the same thing happens for eagles that are well-known for the top level and distant vision but can’t see anything when they get caught by fog or smoke. So, its mysterious thing that there can be some special thing that helps turtles to see properly underwater that we can’t do as a human being.

And it’s nothing mysterious as it has been found that they have tears with some type of mucus that keep their eyes covered. Also, these tears allow them a good vision underwater without being affected by their eyes by bacteria and salt of the water.

Although I am repeatedly mentioning tears, I’m certainly meaning these tears help to keep the eyes being hydrated. Obviously, it’s not the type of tears that we produce during crying because of pain or some other emotional reasons. Moreover, they come out for special reasons even if there is a similarity of them.

Interesting Q&A About Turtles

Q. Can Turtles See Us, the Human Beings?

Yes, turtles definitely can see us and they can do it very well and just by the physical appearance, they are also able to differentiate between us.

Q. Should I Keep The Lights On For My Turtles During The Nighttime?

No, you shouldn’t. Turtles don’t need light at night. But, you can use a normal light only if you like to observe them at night.

Q. How Long Should I Keep The Light On For A Turtle?

You should keep the light on the equal total of time that the sun stays in the sky. This is the best practice in this concern. But, when it comes to the winter, it’s an exception at this time. This is because it’s the time when the sun is up for a short period of time. So, you should leave the lights on for the turtles from 10 to 14 hours when its winter.