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Hi, I have had my RES for about 7 years. He has always been in a large tank in my house, but since he is getting larger i wanted to give him a more natural environment, so I built him an outdoor enclosure. The enclosure has a small pond, some grass, and a large flagstone for basking, and it is covered with rabbit wire to keep predators out. I placed it in a location where the sun will hit him about 4 hours a day or so. I live in Texas and the summers are hot and didnt want his water to boil.
I put him in the habitat on Sunday. I have only seen him come out once and walk around the grass.
I originally had a few bricks in the water to help him climb out since he wasn't able to at first. But then I got worried that when he jumps in, his shell will get hurt on the corner of the bricks. So i build him a little ramp made from the floating dock he had in his tank. but he has yet to use it.
I am worried that he is not happy in this new habitat. so I had a few questions...
Hoe long can they do without basking?
I am considering putting the bricks back, does anyone know if he does hit his shell on the corners will that injure him?
Could it be possible that he is not happy, or maybe is he really taking this long to get adjusted to being outside?
Any advice greatly appreciated!

It could just be taking some time to adjust and he will be a lot more skittish to begin with. Is he left in there overnight? They can go indefinitely without basking but obviously that impacts shell health. If he doesn't bask after a week or two, then I would try something else. And yes, you don't want anything abrasive in there, so you might want to find another way to arrange it.

Yes will take some time to adjust. Try to entice his curiosity , offer some floating plants so he has a place to rest on until he use's the platform you have. Get some logs for him to maybe climb around on to build up to his basking area. Be creative and if you can observe what he does throughout the day to see what he's trying to tell you he needs. If not use a camcorder to monitor him for ideas. Any photo's may help us for ideas.

Thank you so much for the input.
I was able to sand down the bricks so they all are smooth and have rounded edges. This weekend i have noticed that he comes out of the water when its dark out, so hopefully he will soon get adjusted and come out during the day to bask. I will post a pic of the habitat

Here is my habitat I built for my RES.

Look's good.

What are the total dimensions ?
How many gallons water area ?
Your boy is 7 years old but how many inches is his shell ?
What's the square box?

Most turtles rather bask on a platform in the water. This way if it feels unsafe it can jump in the water fast where they feel more comfortable away from danger.


Note : Turtles are great diggers , hopefully the 2x4's or something goes several inches into the ground to prevent escape.

the habitat is 3 ft by 6ft, the pond is a 30 gallon pond, and the square box is just something i added last minute for some shade, but i am working on something a little bigger. he is about 5 to 6 inches long.
I placed the habitat in my yard where he will get full sun for about 4 to 5 hours a day. I think I am going to put something in the water so he can bask on it if I don't see him bask outside the water in the next few days. and the ground is very hard usually cause it is clay, so i dont think the digging will be an issue. i do check on him every morning and in the evenings, so if i see him trying to dig I will rectify that then.
He is really scared to even walk around on the grass so I dont see digging being a problem...right now anyway.

Chances are he will not use the box .
He may want or "need" some shade during that 4-5 hours of full sun. How about some small plants in pots and place on top of setup so not to take up room in it. Don't have to be live could be nice looking artificial ferns to offer shade any time.

That's a great idea! I will do that, thank you so much!