Habitat - Indoor :: getting my turtle to bask

[gloveman]

i've had her(i think its a her) from three days now,,,and i can't get her to get up to my dry area to bask....she can do it i,ve seen her get up there twice but she doesn't stay long enough to dry out.....my water is 80,,,and i kno thats a little high,,,,is that my whole problem.....and if it is what am i going to do come summer.....

[sonyj]

What is your set up like (size of tank/ type of basking dock/ how much water in tank/UVB light/ Heat light etc)? What is the temp of the basking area?

Water temp should be lower (78 for a hatchling, 72-75 for older turtles). Water temp that is too high can lead to fast growth/ excessive shedding which is not good for your turtle. The basking temp should be at least ten degrees higher to entice the turtle to bask.

Also, it takes turtles some time to adjust to their new surroundings even when all aspects of the habitat are correct. Be sure everything is correct in his set up and give him some time to adjust.


How big is your turtle (tip to tip of shell not including curve)? If it's not over four inches you will not be able to tell whether it is male or female.

[gloveman]

ok i have a 75 gal sided off....with 25 gallons of water and a home made ramp up to the dry side and i've seen him do it......imy dry land temp is around 78 80.....so i guess i kno what i'am doing wrong...i have a 40 watt house bulb...should i use more watts

[missibsu]

RES are aquatic turtles and don't need the land area. I have a 75 gallon and it is filled almost to the top, about 6 or so inches to spare. I have a zoo med basking dock for them to climb up on, but it does not have to be half of the tank. For examples of what your set up should and could look like, you can browse the photo gallery.

note, that if you find out later that you have a female, you will need a nesting area, but that won't be until the turtle is around 3 years old.

[gloveman]

ok...i bought the turtle dock from pets mart its in there...should i point the basking light at that...or should i keep it on my dry land.....witch i planted green moss in..if that matters....the lenth of my water is twice the lenth of my dry.......and will the basking light raise my water temp if i have it pointed at the water

[missibsu]

Your basking lightS should be pointed at the place where you expect and want your turtle to bask. You should UVB and UVA. The more water there is in the tank, the less the light affects the water temp. In reality the light shouldn't be focused on the water if it is heating your basking area.

Do you have pics? We'd love to see them!

[cam722]

the light will warm the water up a bit.. but that's just fine.. gradient water temps is a good thing and what they'd find in nature. As has been suggested there really is no need for the land part of your tank... as nice as it may sound, it's not necessary. If you have a basking dock the light should be directed at that.. and the temp 10 degrees higher than your water temp... approximately 90 degrees. What size tank do you have because if it's on the smaller side the land area is taking up precious swimming space. RES are aquatic turtles and LOVE to swim so water space is more valuable than land space for them.. they just need something that they can haul themselves out on to dry off and warm up

[gloveman]

i have pic but don't kno how to post them.....i have a 75 gal tank with 25 gallon s of swiming water and about a 15 by 15 inch squre peice of land....which now i don't kno what i'll use for

[gloveman]

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j312/ ... ankie1.jpg

[gloveman]

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j312/ ... /setup.jpg ok i figured out how to post pics..

[marisa]

Nice-looking turtle. The tank pic is a bit dark, and it's difficult to see what's in it (it looks like a lot, though). You need to change the proportion of water to land, and having a basking area that your turtle can swim under (be it one your buy or make) would really be good, as would increasing the water level to where the tank is about 3/4 full.