Habitat - Indoor :: Basking area questions.

[erik951]

I was gifted my red slider and we are getting along well. I was given a small 10 gallon tank compete setup. It seems like nothing in it was quite good enough so I am replacing things one at a time. I got a new basking floating magnetic perch and my slider very rarely uses it compared to the old step one. I got this one to allow me to add more water as the other was a fixed height. Some times he tries and can't make the climb. Do I let him struggle to figure it out or come up with a ramp of some sort?

[Kansasslider]

How big is your turtle? Can you post pictures?

[erik951]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/fn3mdzgpsf9al ... .30.03.jpg

This is a pic I took the other day examining the green growth on the shell. Doesnt give you a good perspective on the take or his size. Shell is probably 4-5 inches long. I will try and get better pictures when I get home. He is camera shy.

[Kansasslider]

I'm sorry, I didn't mean a picture of your turtle. I meant a picture of the dock he is having problems getting on. A ramp might be in order.

[steve]

I'd give the shell a gentle scrub/cleaning. For a small tank, I'd look into a resin platform similar to this: http://www.petco.com/product/12632/Zill ... -Ramp.aspx or a wedge of cork bark.

With a larger tank, you'd have a lot more options.

[erik951]

My local petco is doing a sale right now $1 a gallon for the tetra glass tanks. So after work I am going to upgrade his home, also ordered a Fluval 306 off of amazon to improve water conditions. This site has been great for ideas.

This is the dock I have now, I got it so it could float and accommodate a larger tank, but like I said he has a hard time getting up on it.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001VGYZVW/?ta ... nttbfggm_b

[steve]

Those magnetic ones might have a harder time holding up a larger turtle. Do you know what the gender is?

[Kansasslider]

You got lucky with that dock. I ordered 2 of those one came in pieces the other one leaked and sank..For smaller turtles I like the Zoo Med turtle dock. I have one in my 40 gallon breeder and it works great.What I really like about them is the ramp that goes down into the water.I have 2 really small turts smaller than 2" and they can get on it no problem.

[Turtle4Jen]

I have a question..

I recently put stepping stones in my turtle's tank for him to get out of the water and bask. I've had him since Christmas and he hasn't been able to fully bask and dry off his shell on his own yet. Thought the stepping stones would help him climb out. They're resting on a pile of gravel and large pebbles which used to slide out from under his feet when he tried to climb the pile. He's starting to get used to the stone steps, but still has yet to fully climb out.

Here's my question: How should I arrange my two lights? I've been putting both the UVB and Heat lamp over the rocks, so when he climbs out, he can warm up and get the "sunlight." But if he's not climbing out all the way.. Should I move the UVB lamp over the water? This way, I figure, he'll get some "sunlight" while he's underwater and swimming?

Another random question: About shedding... he is shedding his skin cells ALL THE TIME!! For the whole month and 2 wks I've had him! He always has flakey skin coming off of him and it comes off in the water as he swims. I know that shedding is normal, but what about too much shedding? When should a RES shed? So far, I have not noticed him shedding his scutes.

*Jen*

[Kansasslider]

Your lights are fine and the shedding is normal. Can you post pictures? Turtles are just different I have 4 and they all bask differently.
Water temp? Basking temp? Are you using water conditioner?

[ljapa]

You might try making sure there's some heat where the water edge is. Don't center the basking light there, but make sure the turtle can figure out there's a warmer space up there.

[Turtle4Jen]

One pic: You can see how far he gets to the top of the steps. He only sticks his head out and then swims back down. Sometimes, I've seen him climb a bit more so the top of his shell is out of the water, but that's not very often.

The second pic: If you look closely, you can see flakes of skin cells flapping off of his neck and coming off. It has been much worse then this before. He looked like he had a beard at one point.. LoL

These are both current pics I just took a few minutes ago.
*Jen*

[Turtle4Jen]

Water conditioner- yes
Water temp- set to 75 F with a heater
Basking temp- 90 F

When I fully cleaned his tank on Saturday, I put him in a large container with his lamps over one end. It took a while for his new tank water to warm up for him, so he was there in this container drying out and basking for 4 1/2hrs! He was walking back and forth from the lamp side to the cooler side that was room temperature. I think he liked that, it was the most "sunlight" he has ever gotten since I've had him!

Should I take him out every few days, set up the container with his lamps so he can dry off and bask for an hour or so? It just worries me all the time that he hasn't climbed out fully on his own...

Then again, I may be worrying too much. I'm new at this and only put the stepping stones in his tank on Sunday (two days ago). Before the stones, it was just a large pile of pebbles as you can see.

*Jen*

[ljapa]

If it's just two days, give it time. You'll find lots of stories here of turtles not basking when the basking area changed.

Put a pellet up there, where he can see it. Then be patient. He'll bask.

[Kansasslider]

This has nothing to do with your turtle basking but I would suggest you stop using water conditioner. It can be bad for your turtle.