General Care Discussion :: Baby RES (Can't Swim?)

[Cusson]

i dont know but my little buddy (meatball) doesnt seem to know how to swim. Im not sure if it is because he has never been in real deep water, but he just sinks to the bottom of the tank and sits there. He moves VERY rarely. Is it possible that he like hasn't learned to swim yet?

[megcornell]

How long have you had him and what is the water and basking temp? Have you noticed any other unusual behaviors ?

[wezeles]

First off how long did you let them sit there? they can hold there breath for quite some time you know... mine usually sit on the bottom of the tank more than anything...

the first couple times they started swimming to the top you could tell they were in a pannic because they wernt use to that deep of water... now its second nature to them...

Let him sit on the bottom a while and keep watch of him "you will need a chair for this part" when he starts to try to get off the bottom just watch to see how bad he struggles... they can swim as well as they can sink... But out of instinct hes gonna move very little and hide as far away from the big scary person untill he gets use to you... my babys still dive in the water the second i look at them... they are slowly comming around... if he struggles getting to the top more than a couple times though you might want to let out some of the water

[Cusson]

well i guess he can get to the top if he wants to... he has managed to find his way out. But he never basks. I dont have a light there because i have no space for it but i think the water temp may also be a lil warm.. its about 82... im trying to get it to cool off but its taking a long time

[SpotsMama]

Until you get a good basking (heat) light over the basking area and get the basking temp up to around 90 and get the water temp down to around 78 (or 75 if this is a grown turtle 4" long or longer), your turtle won't bask. They are naturally attracted to heat and the difference between the water temp (cooler) and the basking temp (warmer) is what motivates them to get up and bask. If the basking area isn't warmer, no matter how nice it is they won't bother to get up and bask. And you can't put them up there and expect them to stay. They have to want to get up there on their own.

Have you read up on lighting? You'll actually need two light bulbs - one for heat and one for UVB. Here's a link that talks about it. If you have any questions come back here and we'll try to help.

http://www.redearslider.com/index_lighting_basking.html

If there isn't currently space in your configuration to allow for light fixtures, you need to think about how to rearrange things to make space. There are lots of good examples on here of lighting setups in the Indoor Habitat section on the main part of this site and also in photos in the photo section on the forum. If you want examples please check these out.

It's critical that turtles bask. If they don't, they'll get sick and have shell infections. They have to bask under uVB light in order to absorb the calcium they eat, which is essential for their shell and bones. Also, their shells must dry out thoroughly every day or fungus and bacteria will start to grow.

[marisa]

When my turtles were small and they were put in water, they would sink to the bottom and just sit there for a while, pretty much until I went away. He sounds like he's doing that until he feels more comfortable moving around (not threatened). Swimming is instinctive for them---they do not need to "learn" how to swim.