General Care Discussion :: Gah, not basking. v.v''

[Mr. Grimsly]

I seem to be having all sorts of problems with Mr. Grimsly! Well, yesterday my dad built me a dock and I posted about it in the forums and people thought it was too difficult for him to reach, so I was going to get rid of it. Because my dad made it, he used glue to make sure all of the pieces of slate didn't fall off and whatnot, but it turns out the glue was toxic and polluted my tank! Of course I took out Grimsly when I saw strange toxins leaking from under the rocks and set him up in an emergency tank aka bathtub with the works for the night.
In the morning I went out and bought him a floating turtle dock that Spotsmama recommended and it looks nice in the newly sanitized tank.
My problem is this: Sometimes I think Grimsly has a few screws lose and doesn't catch onto things quickly. I never really saw him bask, and earlier I saw him trying to get onto his dock but he wasn't using the ramp, which isn't too smart. I never see him bask, almost ever.
AND a few scutes on his back look a bit white, I think it may be the beginning of a fungus! It was nothing at first, but it seems to be spreading a little on his shell. If it is a fungus, how should I treat it? And any suggestions on how to get him to bask?

[SpotsMama]

Man I'm so glad you got that toxic slate out of there! You'll be happy with the floating dock.

All the turtles sometimes try to go up the floating dock from the side instead of from the ramp. It's very frustrating to watch. However, some of the time he'll go up the ramp like he's supposed to and get to bask. Eventually, he'll almost always go up it the right way but from time to time he'll still try to go up the side, almost like it's a challenge he can't resist. Watch him for a few days and see if he doesn't get it right some of the time.

On the white scutes, it's possible a fungus is getting started but it's also possible he's starting to shed scutes in the normal way. Can you see the white either when he's wet or when he's dry or is it only visible when he's dry? Can you post photos of the shell when it's dry?

If it's spreading out from a central point or a few points, then that's not a good sign. It's essential that his shell get a chance to dry out completely at frequent intervals and that he get some good light. If he's still not basking regularly after a couple of days (and I mean for hours at a time) let us know and we'll suggest some alternatives to make sure his shell dries out and he gets good light.

In general, the main motivator for a turtle to bask is warmth. They love to be warm. Keep the basking area around 10 degrees (or more) warmer than the water, at around 90 degrees.

[Mr. Grimsly]

Yeah, it is VERY frustrating. D:
He is starting to shed skin, I have noticed, and possibly scutes. But the white is coming from a central point, like it isn't appearing on other areas randomly, and there is a little bit of white on the bottom of his shell too.
I cannot see the white when I take him out of the water and I tried using white vinegar on them to see if it could come off and no luck. Right when you put him back in the water, it is completely visible again.
He doesn't dry for hours a day and I know that. I think it may be that his water temperature is too high [sometimes 80-82 on a regular basis] and his basking area too hot [I put my thermometer on his basking area today and it read 96!] I am going to have to get one with a lower wattage? Any watt recommendation?
It's hard to keep my room cool as well, it's a challenging situation.
I heard of a store-bought product that can treat the fungus, but I can't change the main water temperature too much until summer is over, and I don't want it to come back if that is what it is.
Gee, I had no idea owning a turt would be so challenging! x.x
Also, it may be because of PH or hard water? I don't really know what a suitable PH would be for a turtle, I asked a man at the pet store and he said it didn't matter which didn't sound too likely. =/

[urbancleopatra]

One way to help out the basking issue is hold a pellet in your fingers and slowly lure him up the ramp with it so he at least experiences the ramp. It worked with my two.

[SpotsMama]

That's a good idea urbancleopatra has about getting Mr. Grimsley used to the ramp.

If he's got the start of a mild fungus infection, you might be able to stop it with zoo med's turtle sulfa dip. You can get it in the reptile section of the pet store. It's not expensive and lots of people have used it. Just follow the instructions on the box.

To lower the temp on the basking area, can you move the heat bulb further away from the basking area?

There are some differences of opinion on ph, but it's a fact that fungus likes high ph (alkaline). Try adjusting your ph to 7 (neutral) or just a little bit lower to create a less favorable environment for the fungus. If you need to lower ph, there's a product called Ph Down that you can get in the fish section. It's sulfuric acid, so handle with care. Lower the ph VERY VERY slowly. If it goes too fast or too far, it will kill the beneficial nitrifying bacteria. Be sure and dilute the acid before adding it to the tank.

If he's really not drying off like he should you'll need to occasionally take him out of the tank and put him in a safe place like a box with a towel or something to make it softer and cover the top so it's dark and he'll go to sleep and leave him for several hours at a time so he'll get good and dry. In the meantime, keep trying to get him to bask.