General Care Discussion :: Haven't seen turtle bask in a while

[Meta]

I replaced my turtle dock with a piece of cork bark like a month ago or more. Its a little steep of a climb for my turtle to get on, its been on it a few times, but it struggled for a while to climb up. would my turtle just stop basking becuase its too difficult to climb. the sides of the bark arent as thick and are easy to climb if it wanted to, the center is a bit higher above water and is the hard part.

[2turtlvr]

We're kind of having the same issue. Our basking area just got renovated too and they both seem to be really hesitant to use it. Nibbler is ok and will get on the ramp of our basking area but wont hang out in it, but sheldon really has no interest in going in there. How long can they go without basking before we need to worry? Does anyone have any suggestions for getting them up there? They're very food motivated (obviously), but they'll run up to grab the food and then dive back into the water so they can swallow it, so i'm not really sure they're learning it's a safe place.

[steve]

If he's having a hard time getting up there, then yes he would be reluctant to do so. With a rigid basking area, you need to make sure he can easily get on and that you have right water levels.

[marisa]

How steep is the incline? Corkbark is normally one of the easiest materials for them to climb on---their nails grip it quite easily.

[2turtlvr]

Both of the turtles can get up there. They just dont seem to like it. I've still only seen Nibbler stay up there for very long. I'll trick him up there with some treats. He jams all of them in his mouth and runs back to the water usually jumping right on top of Sheldon, who doesnt even come up for treats. Sometimes we'll see them on the ramp, but not in the basking area. Pictures of the ramp angle can be seen here viewtopic.php?f=6&t=15260&start=285 towards the bottom of the page. We have a reptile carpet that they can grip pretty well. We've also tried making the basking area more secluded (fake plants against the walls) so they feel safer basking, but still neither will bask. Suggestions?

[steve]

They can be picky with their basking habits, especially if they're not comfortable. Could you cover the side and see if some privacy helps?

[UniversityGirl]

Your problem may not be the basking area at all. It may be the light. Even if it isn't burnt out it may not be producing enough heat, the heat production tends to decrease with age of the bulb. If its not warm enough they wont want to come out, and will prefer to stay in the water where its warmer.
Our basking area is made of rock and used to be difficult for them to get onto but that didnt stop them.