General Care Discussion :: out of tank basking

[onid]

I have a 5 yr old slider. I waited too long to get the new tank which has caused tremendous grief getting set up. The turtle is having trouble basking because the old tank is too small and so is the platform. It is taking way longer to set up the new tank than I knew. Can I let her bask outside of the tank in a tub if there is no h2o for her to jump in if she feels too hot. I can monitor the temp in the tub to a small degree but how long should she be in there at a stretch? Also it seems to stress her out to be in the tub the few times i've tried. Is it better for her to be angry and dry or less stressed in water for days? It could take up to two more weeks before new tank done. Any advice welcome. thanks!

[untsmurf]

You can take the turtle outside to bask. Just make sure you never let it out of your site. RES are amazing escape artists.

[onid]

Thanks for the response. The temp gets up to 130 in the sun in a matter of minutes. she freaks out enough to hurt herself. I put her in 1/2 shade 1/2 sun. she gets 20 minutes most before it gets so pathetic I put her back. Don't know if I am causing harm or tough love as it is. How do I know if she's cooking? I can deal with the freaking out if I know I'm not killing her in the process. if the ambient air temp in the shade is 90 then is she ok like that? she is a recent rescue. I don't know what I am doing. I've read all I can but don't know how to know if what i'm doing while the new tank is being modified is good or bad.

[steve]

You can leave her in the shade however, she should not be in a small tub when outside. She should have some space to move around, the bigger the better