General Care Discussion :: My RES won't Bask

[freckls]

In June my wife brought home an RES from Florida. I knew nothing about turtles & never had one. The turtle would spend all of his time basking & never swim. Through some research, I found he had the swollewn eye thing, I treated it, & he was fine. I have a basking light, + UV lamp which are on 12 hrs a day. I use natural spring water & change it often. He has a fairly large tank with a very oversized filtration system, rocks, (both natural & synthetic) some plastic plants that he likes to hide under, & a heater. He REFUSES to bask at all. I have tried raising & lowering the water level & temperature, put in different types of basking platforms, both natural & synthetic. He seems very healthy & is growing rapidly. He is very alert and full of life: he does everything one would expect a normal healthy turtle to do except bask. HELP!

Thanks,
Tim

[SpotsMama]

They won't bask unless the temperature in the basking area is significantly - about 10 degrees - warmer than the water temperature. If your water temperature is 75 degrees, your basking temp should be in the upper 80's or low 90's.

If it's TOO hot, the turtle won't bask either.

What are your temps like?

ew

[grey goose]

Are you sure he's not basking when you're not around? He may be doing it behind your back. Also make sure the water isn't too warm. I keep mine @ 76.5. When you check on him, look at the basking area and see if it's wet....

[freckls]

Thanks very much for the quick reply. Yes, my water may be too hot. I'm in the northeast & raised the water temp when it started to get colder this winter. I will try lowering it & see what happens!

[steve]

You can cover the sides of the tank, offering more privacy. Also, make sure that the basking area is very easy to climb onto. What kind are you using?

[freckls]

Dear Steve: Thanks for the reply. Right now, I have an artificial ramp with a flat top. Easy to climb on: he has done it in the past. I think the key might be in the raised water temp. The water is actually warmer than the air above it, so I will work on that & try blackening the sides of the tank. Thanks for the tips! Sincerely,Tim

[Kallistos]

You shouldn't have to raise the temperature on the heater because it's getting cold outside. The heater will adjust and probably be on more often so it can keep the temperature. Drastic temperature changes aren't very good, at least they aren't for fish, so I'd gradually decrease the temperature down to around 75 degrees.

A cheap digital thermometer is very handy in monitoring the basking/water temperature ACCURATELY. For now I'd say 76 degrees water temperature and 88-90 degrees basking. Basically you need to give them a reason to bask, if the water is too warm then they'll think "hey, it's toasty down here so why take the chance of getting eaten by that one guy on the basking platform."

[kikicool]

My lily took forever to bask regularly. I tried everything. I made a ramp for the basking spot, covered it with river rocks.. that was a miserable failure and waste of time.

Honestly, I think the ramp may make a difference. I recently bought this one, (link below) and she basks a lot lately. I know how frustrating it can be. I was so worried about her shedding etc. but I bought this one and then... I stopped messing around with her tank. Stopped adding new plants, different rocks, new filter etc. and let it be. I think I was trying too hard to make it perfect, and each change made her nervous. About a week after, she started to bask. Two weeks in, she began doing it regularly. Although my presence results in an immediate leap back into the tank. Who knew turtls could jump so well? LOL! Keep us posted on how it goes!

Oh also, I have TWO ramps in there. But this is the only one either turtle uses. It's easy to get up because of the surface covering, I think that makes a big difference.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/P ... 2006&Nty=1