General Care Discussion :: Got a RES yesterday and haven't seen it eat/get out of water

[myelevatorbeat]

I got a RES yesterday. He is about 4-5 inches. I put him in a 60 gallon tank that is filled almost to the top with water and contains a floating dock. I have some feeder fish in there, some turtle pellets on the floating dock, and some romaine lettuce on the dock and in the water. I have the heater for the water set for 77 degrees, a heat lamp over his dock, and a 48" 40w Repti Glo 5.0 light over the entire aquarium. I have the light set on a timer so that he gets exactly 12 hours a day. Do these turtles rarely get out of the water or is there something wrong with mine? I thought maybe it would just take him some time to get used to the tank before he started eating and getting out of the water. My brother has 2 baby RES's and they frequently come out of the water and LOVE to eat at anytime, so I am basing my assumptions on the experience I have had with the baby turtles.

Please someone tell me if there is something wrong with my setup, or if I could use any improvements. Maybe he just needs some time to get used to the tank?

[sonyj]

If you just got him, then this is probably the cause of why he's not basking or eating yet. It takes them a little while to adjust to a new habitat/environment. Be sure to check the basking temperature. It needs to be around 88-90, and the water temp should be 72-75 for an older turtle. If this has all been done, then give him some time to adjust and some privacy and it shouldn't be long before he's basking.

[cam722]

The only thing I can add to sonyj's reply is that you may want to make sure that the water level isn't high enough for the turtle to escape. Are you putting any food in the water? Also, is his tank in a high traffic area? If so he may not like all that activity. You can build a barrier around the basking area so that he has some privacy to bask. Some turtles are just darn picky about who watches them bask

[marisa]

You got him only yesterday? He's still adjusting to his new home. Make sure the basking area temp is 88-90F (check it with a thermometer). I'd add some floating fake plants to the tank so he has some "cover" to go to for privacy. He probably feeling a little too vulnerable to get out and bask, so putting a make-shift screen outside the tank around the basking area would probably help (especially if he's in a place where there's activity/sudden movement).

They have to eat in the water, so unless you're testing his ability to get on the basking dock or enouraging him to get on it (he has to bring the food back into the water, though), you could just put the pellets in the water.

The Repti-Glo 5.0 provides UVB rays? If so, try to get the dock under it as much as possible so he can get the rays when he basks (heat light should be next to/as close to it as possible over the dock). If you have a covering over the light (glass, plastic), it needs to be removed, since barriers like those will block the UVB rays.

[myelevatorbeat]

It took him about 2 days but last night I came downstairs and found him basking, but then my dog barked and he jumped back in the water. Later, I found him basking again so he must be doing it frequently, he just doesn't like me watching him.

I have the tank temperature around 74-78. Is 78 too hot? I haven't seen him eat yet but I put some romaine lettuce and some carrots in the tank last night and today the carrots are gone. He really hasn't responded to the pellets yet.

Also, I had another question. I keep reading on here about the turtle "drowning". I was unaware this could happen since the turtle stays in the water so often. How does this happen? Just when he has nothing to climb up on to get out occasionally?

[sonyj]

Glad he's basking. Some turtles are just more shy than others. We've had ours for 7months and this week is the first time he's ever walked up onto the basking platform with someone in the room. So it takes time for them to become comfortable.

For a turtle your size, 75 should be the max water temp. Water that is too warm can lead to growth that is too fast and excessive shedding.

The only time I've heard about a turtle drowning is when they get trapped under water by something, such as a cave that is too small or rocks that they can't pass through if they form a tight space to swim around, etc. It's also possible for very young or sick hatchlings to drown if they are tired/ill, if they don't have plants in the tank to rest on as they swim. A healthy turtle in a good environment shouldn't have any problems.