Habitat - Indoor :: STILL not basking on ATBA

[bananakiri]

So Squirt is the only one that has yet to bask on the ATBA....on friday it'll be 2 weeks since he last basked and im starting to get really worried...

He used to love basking and even when I would walk into the room he wouldnt even jump off the zoomed dock I had, but now with the ATBA he doesnt even want to go half way up the ramp! Ive tried using food as a lure, ive tried covering the glass doors with towels so he cant see out, ive adjusted the ramps angle about a million times, and I dont know what else to do bc he absolutely refuses to go up. The water temp is about 76ish, and the basking area is around 82-86ish. I even tried moving the heat lamp more towards the ramp to see if that will entice him and NOTHING. In fact he spends about all of his time on the complete opposite side of the tank where the ramp is not. I am completely out of ideas....He needs a really good shed too like REALLY bad

[steve]

Is he the smallest one? How does his size compare to the others?

[bananakiri]

Yeah hes the smallest one, probably about .5 - 1 inch smaller than my biggest Herbert whose around 4-5inches. Also I think you jinxed me the other day LOOLL, Leo suddenly became more aggressive than normal and started biting at Herbert's and Squirt's shells, so I immediately separated him and I even found him a new home that same day with a friend of mine whose buying a nice big tank for him all by himself! I think he'll do a lot better by himself since hes a pretty dominating turtle and eats like a truck driver. But i'll still get to visit him from time to time so thats a plus. Herbert and Squirt seem to get along pretty well however, as they tend to not even pay attention to each other most of the time.
Anyways, I had a bit of luck with Squirt today I guess as I did the usual of putting Squirt's food going up the ramp so he has to climb and get it, and usually hes too skittish to go all the way up and get the food I leave on top of the basking area as well, but today he did!! I found all the food on the basking area gone! And I know it was him bc I was feeding Herbert in a separate container! And the rest of the day I found him resting on the ramp, in the water however. (its a start I guess LOLL) and one time I even saw him follow Herbert up the ramp and went up to the top with him!! (although he did slide down after about 10 seconds...)
Even with the improvement of today though, i'm still really desperate for him to go up and dry off....

[steve]

What's weird is that when they sometimes get more space to swim, they become more aggressive. Great that you were able to separate and rehome quickly.

Sounds like there is progress. Have you posted pics of the atba before?

[bananakiri]

Yeah, I actually saw him go completely up once today, although again he went back down after about 10 seconds. Tbh I really want to try taking him outside in the sun for a bit to dry off, but im so worried bc one time I put him in a bucket with a towel for like 5mins, and when I put him back in the water he was so freaked out that it looked like his penis was coming in and out of his body.... And no I dont think I have posted any pics, so heres some:






OMG AS I WAS TYPING THIS HE WENT COMPLETELY UP AGAIN FOR ABOUT 20 SECONDS IM SO PROUD LOL

[steve]

Looks great and he's starting to figure it out . You could probably bump up the temps in the basking area a little bit as well.

[Miss Frost]

Bananakiri, I really like your ATBA. Was it a custom job or did you buy it somewhere? I was thinking that it looks like something that would be perfect for my needs.

[bananakiri]

ahhhh Im so glad Squirt has been going up to bask (even if its just for a few seconds/mins)!! He seems to be too scared to go up on his own though, and I noticed he'll only go up if Herbert is too or if Herberts already up there. I feel like hes still testing to see if whether or not its safe since he goes up, slides down, then goes back up, then slides down...LOL

also @Miss Frost, thank you so much for liking it! It was actually custom made (my grandfather is VERY handy, he even built a waterproof stand to match the ATBA that has lights inside and sliding shelves LOLL). If you would like, I can make a separate post with pics of the ATBA and stand to give you ideas? I'm not super sure how he built it but if you have any questions on how he made it I can ask him, since he LOVES talking about building stuff hahaha!