General Care Discussion :: Basking or not basking

[ccampbell410]

I know this question has been asked a milllion times but i need to ask it about my tootsie. She seems really happy and the water temp is fine and shes eating fine but ive never seen her bask. she swims around allllll day and she plays in the bubbles from the filter, but im not sure if shes basking when im not home. This morning i put a couple pellets of her food on the dock to see if she knew how to get onto it and when i came home they were gone, so i dont know if that means she basks when im not there or if she was just hungry. Any input would be welcome.

[missibsu]

I've heard mention of people video taping to see what happens when they are gone.

Is your turtle in a room with a lot of activity? It could be that she would bask when you are home if there is less activity. Mine won't bask when I am anywhere near the room that they are in.

[ccampbell410]

yeah, shes in the living room, we are gone for most of the day, the only thing moving around when we are gone is the cat, i know he likes to watch her every once and while, (completely harmless, he doesnt try to get in he just likes sitting on the couch and watching her swim, he does this with my snake too) anyways, so I kow she knows how to get n the dock cause i put the food up there and its gone, maybe ill try to videotaping thing. her shell doenst seem soft either so im hoping shes basking

[DanielRES1180]

Is your turtle in a room with a lot of activity? It could be that she would bask when you are home if there is less activity. Mine won't bask when I am anywhere near the room that they are in.

That is true, but some turtles are more shy than others, kind of like in schools, going from the kids who are confident in presentations to the the kids that are a wreck and are just about ready to melt on the podium. My turtles like to bask in an active spot, as long as nobody watches them.

[ccampbell410]

she just kinda basked. I took her out cause i noticed a little whitish brownish spot on her shell and didnt know if it was cause its shedding or if its soft or something. So she explored the living room for awhile and i put her back in on the dock and she sat there under the light for maybe like 5 minutes and then got scared and went back in the water.

[Spookster]

If the water temperature is too close to the basking temperature the turtle will not bask because they will stay warm in the water. You should have at least a 10 degree difference between the water and the basking area. I keep my water temp about 76 degrees and the basking temp around 90 degrees.