Habitat - Indoor :: Floating Dock question

[jbarker]

Well I have a floating dock for their basking area but it looks like they are having trouble figuring out how it works, they have only been in there for about 3 hours though but im just worried that they will not be able to thermoregulate. Although it is night so I really dont have to worry about this till tomorrow.

Also these guys are about 1.5 inches or so and im wondering if the water can be too deep

[TheComputerGremlin]

It sometimes takes up to a month for a turtle to get used to a new basking area or environment. Don't rush it, eventually they will either figure out how to use it or show that they are obviously unable to use it. You can try setting them on the dock a few times so they understand it better.

RES are aquatic, so you can fill your tank up as much as it will allow and that they can't climb out. Sometimes with new or smaller turtles, it's best to gradually fill up the tank over a few weeks time so they can figure out how to swim. I'd start it off at 4-5 inches and add an inch each week until you've reached a safe depth.

[jbarker]

Cool, when i woke up this morning, too late haha around 10, so the light was on and when i came around the corner they were on it, so i think their getting the hang of it.

Also that was the plan with the water, but for some reason i got exited and forgot about the plan haha.
EDIT:
http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y277/d ... G_3373.jpg
http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y277/d ... G_3371.jpg

Thanks!
Jonathan

[Nettle]

When we first got our two half-dollar sized turtles, they were in stupidly put in our mini pond which is easily four feet deep. They had a little problem getting directly from the bottom to the top, but were always ok.

[jbarker]

thanks for the advise guys! I went ahead and dropped the water level down some so that they could get used to it. now their using the dock as their little hiding spot. I have seen them on the dock basking but normally its when I have been out of the room and I forget to sneak up on them and I see them scatter off of it into the water haha.

[Bumby's Mom]

I can't tell from the pics but make sure you leave the bottom 2 suction cups unsuctioned and flip the plastic so the bar is at the top instead of the bottom so your babies don't get stuck and drown. And that gravel is going to be a pain to keep clean. It gets nasty really fast and isn't good for them when they are bigger.

[jbarker]

Thanks for the help! i noticed they do hang around that bar and it kinda scares me some times that they will get stuck.