General Care Discussion :: Baby RES Will Not Bask & Some Other Questions...

[Dsimms]

->Well I have 2 baby RES (Pink&Floyd) both of them are about 3 inches now, I got them about 2 months ago from a young boy who could not keep up the care for them. Well since I got them I now have them in a 20 gal. tank with all the nice toys (turtle dock, floating log, 20 gal external filter, 20 gal internal filter, under gravel filter, some big stones on the bottom to stand on, water heater, and sun lamp with a exo terra sun bulb). On to my question, at first my smaller RES (pink) would bask all the time and my bigger RES (floyd) would every so often but now they don't at all they use the turtle dock to hang on but never bask any more. I tried the food on the dock to see if the lil sneaky guys are doing it when I am not around but they never eat it. Well my water temp is 75 degreesF and the basking area is 90 degreesF and the lamp is about 12 inches from the dock.
->Also I am not to sure how much to feed the lil hungry guys, They have gotten use to me hand feeding them and every time they see me they rush to the surface as if they are asking for food. I feed them once a day in the morning about 5 sticks each. Also not sure if this is related to the feeding but from what I read I believe it is. On the top side of their shells down the center as if it was there back bone their shell isn't smooth it is pointy.
->And finally I know Pink&Floyd are still young but when can I expect them to start mating? Because they have been hanging out pretty close to each other in the tank like on top one another and side by side on the bottom recently, at first they kept their distance. And now they are like teenage lovers...

I dunno maybe I am crazy but all I want is the best for them and and have them till they grow old, so if you can help me with some of my questions it will be awsome and highly appreciated. Thank You for All Your Help...

[SpotsMama]

One thing I see that's missing is a UVB light source. Your exo terra bulb provides UVA and heat but the turtles also require UVB. This usually means you have to have two bulbs - one for UVB (and it can also provide UVA) and one for heat (which can also provide UVA).

Here's some good reading on how much to feed.

http://www.redearslider.com/pellets.html

If they are really just 3 inches long then they are too young to be mating. They will develop sexual characteristics when they get around 4 inches long. Then you (and they) will know if you've got two males, two females, or one of each!

If you've got a female(s), be sure and learn all about egg laying as they start to mature. The females will lay eggs even if there's not a male present.

[industrial_girl_2000]

If the temp of your basking area is at least 10 degrees higher than the water, then they usually will bask. Then again, some turtles dislike basking constantly (will do it only occasionally) or go thru phases where they bask all the time. For many yrs, my Sheba did not like to bask. She was so bull-headed about it, that I would just take her out of the tank & let her run around the house so that her shell would at least completely dry off. It's good for them to dry off daily.

Now that she is older, she LOVES to bask & does it all the time.

Keep in mind that turtles really don't need a "buddy" in the tank with them. If they start to fight or snap at each other, you will need to separate them into their own tanks, or get a much bigger tank. The general rule is 10 gallons per inch of shell, which would technically mean that each of your turt kids needs their own 30 gallon tank since each of them is 3" long already.

I wouldn't worry about putting food on the dock to see if they will bask. Some turts will grab food off a dock, but drag it into the water to eat it. They don't have saliva glands & need the water to swallow. So they may go up on the dock to get the food, then jump back down into the water to eat it. The only way to really know for sure if they are basking is to put a video camera on them all day!

[marisa]

Are you sure they're not basking when you're not around?