General Care Discussion :: My turtle is too shy to bask

[Boston_Zhao]

he stays in water 24 hours a day, never comes out for basking. but he is a healthy turt, grows fast and chubby. his shell is hard, only the edges near his rear legs curl up. is this ok for him? he is now 2and half inches.

[Kallistos]

Refer to the other 3 topics about this. A picture would help, usually the curling up isn't a good sign if it's really dramatic.

[GSSgtmajor]

Not sure what the curling up means, however turtles, esp. when you have only just got them, are very shy pets. It is possible they will not bask with you in the room, as to them you look like a big scary thing. Try putting some food on the basking area, and leave them room completely quiet for at least 2 hours ie. no TV, no-one passing through, no lights being turned on or off etc. If, after that time, the food has gone, then you know they can climb on to the basking area. May I ask what the temp of the basking area is, it should be about 10F above the water temp, so there is an reason for them to bask.

Would still advise looking at other threads though, in case I've missed something/said something incorrect.