How big is your turtle? About 9-10 in
How long have you had it? 7 years since she was a baby
What is the water temperature? 80 F
Did you use a thermometer? No I need to go get a new one
Are you using a water heater? Yes, replace a few days ago
How much water is in there? roughly 80 gal; enough for her to have room to swim but she can also reach the surface when she stands on her legs
Are you using a water conditioner? yes
Are you using any filtration? Fluval FX4 with carbon and biofiltration
What is the basking temperature? Not sure; it's in a spot that I couldn't put a thermometer. I have moved the lamp closer and further away to try and fix the problem.
Is there a basking light? Yes
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? Yes
What kind is it or what is it made out of? Zoo Med Turtle Dock attached to an upside down 5 gal food grade bucket (doubles as hide)
Is there a UVB light? yes
What have you been trying to feed it? Pleco wafers, 2 kind of turtle pellets, freeze-dried turtle medley (these she all eats) trying kale but she doesn't like it
When was the last time your turtle ate? yesterday
How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? Definitely 100+, I think 125 looking online at similar models. It is a pond insert kept indoors.
Is the tank near a window? Yes but no direct sunlight this time of year.
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? Moderate activity; tank is in living room which is attached to dining room (our current work-from-home office) where we spend most time.
Have you read the Basic Care section? skimmed
Have you searched the forums for similar situations? yes
Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms?
We just took my RES to the vet for excessive basking and was told she was pregnant! Too many eggs collapsing her lungs. She refused to lay the eggs for us so after many expensive vet visits over the weekend and an overnight stay, the vet released her 4 days ago saying she was very healthy with no more lung damage. First day bringing her home, she seemed back to normal. Second day, I wake up to her climbing onto the basking dock and immediately diving off over and over. She also started swimming up the side of the pond attempting to get out Checked the water temperature, it was way too low. Replaced my heater (I got two heaters this time to hopefully take the strain off and extend their lifetimes). Water temperature is back to normal and she is still doing it, but less frequently. Also experimented moving the heat lamp closer/further away, but I don't think that's the issue as she does bask regularly most of the time. It's mostly in the early morning before the heat lamp comes on that she climbs on and jumps off/swims up the side, but she is also doing it at random intervals throughout the day. She is also shedding her scales and may be shedding her scutes, I'm not sure. The vet emailed me asking for a follow up and I briefly told them what was happening but they were not helpful and simply said they were "glad she's doing better." One thought I had is that she just wants to go into her new dirt enclosure (not attached to the pond, I have to manually take her out and put her in). She started swimming up the side of her pond (prompting me to write this) so I put her in and she is now happily digging. Is the basking and then jumping off normal/healthy? Is this worth another visit to the vet or should I wait? They did say that she was healthy when they discharged her 4 days ago.
An additional note, pH test strip said that the water was very acidic, so I added some baking soda + pH balancer hoping that would stop the behavior. It did not. Not 100% sure if the test strips were accurate, considering they tested 0 nitrates or nitrites. I bought the strips a few weeks ago. I will do a water change either today or tomorrow and buy some fresh crushed coral (and new test strips, and new thermometer) over the weekend.