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I just finished a new above tank enclosure for my turtles and seems that only 1 of them is using it. I'm not home all day so I don't know for sure but even when I sneak into the room I never find any of them up there. Any ideas how to coax them up?

Give them a few days to get comfortable and explore. You can leave a little food up there as well.

It's been about two weeks. Dry food or vegetables?

Dry food...pellets. See if they get moved or disappear when your not in the room.

Might want to check the angle of the ramp and the surface type. Too steep and not enough traction and they can't get up. Pictures would help to see if it might be a structural thing as well.

Any pics of the setup? A steep angle or not enough traction could lead to them not heading up for rays.

Hello. I got 2 RES's (male and female) yesterday. They both refuse to use their basking area, which is a massive rock just above the water level. I'm sure they can climb up on it. Everything else seems to be fine except that they don't wanna bask. They are around 3-4 inches. What might be the problem?

If you got them yesterday and they're in a new habitat, it could take a few days for them to feel comfortable and want to explore the basking area. Do you have heat + UVB lights over the rock?

Their habitat is outdoors and there is no need for heat and UVB lights (I think) as I live in China and daytime temperatures are about 35C-40C and at night it is around 25C-30C. During the day there should be more than enough sunlight reaching them.

I will update with a picture of their habitat tomorrow to see if I have done anything wrong.

Thank you!

Pictures will help a lot. It's possible it maybe at too hot for them to bask in the full sun.
What is the water temperature?

hi. i have the same problem. just constructed the ATBA and i've been observing my turt's actions.maybe the ramp is too steep? please help. here are the pictures:

The first thing I see is the water level. Try raising your water so a little more of the ramp is submerged.

dumbork if you put the turtle on the ramp does it stay in place or does it move. If it droops down it may be causing the angle to increase. Try placing your turtle on the ramp and see what happens. I always place mine on the basking area once it warms up to teach them, hey its warm up here come bask.

thanks for you replies.tried increasing the water level:


if i put dumbork on the ramp, the ramp stays still (secured with a zip tie). but then, dumbork will become skittish and dive immediately into the water. i tried putting some pellets on the basking area.



(the small turtle there is a toy). hopefully when i come back from work later the pellets will be gone! ) how much time do turtles need before acclimating to new surroundings anyway?

hope i have one of those motion detector camera thingy so that i can monitor his movements. wish us luck!

What are the water and basking area temps? There has to be enough of a difference for your turtle to want to get out of the water.