General Care Discussion :: Never basques, won't eat anything but pellets

[RunninWideOpen]

Greetings,
I got a turtle a little over three weeks ago. His name is Crush and he is 6" long. He spends a lot of time poking his head out of the water and looking around, but I've noticed that he never seems to basque. I have a 55gallon tank and the lighting I have is what came with it - two 18in halogens. I can't find anywhere on the bulb what wattage it is, but it feels warm to my hand where his basquing area is (I got one of those "Turtle Docks").

I see him with his front legs on the turtle dock sometimes, but he never climbs up onto it. Do I need a different light? Or what else might keep him from basquing?

Also, I have tried to give him other things to eat (that were listed on the site as good for him), such as lettuce, tuna, and even some minnows, but Crush never eats anything but the pellets. Any ideas? The minnows are still swimming around 2 weeks later.

Thanks in advance for your help. [/list][/code]

[Starchick]

If the basking spot isn't warm enough, he won't see any reason to bask. Grab a cheap thermometer and make sure the basking spot is at least 10 degrees warmer than the water temp. Also, he might just not be used to the dock, depending on what he had before. Napoleon got changed from a rock bridge to the floating dock and refused to use it for three weeks before he finally got the idea. Also, I've heard that some turtles just don't like the floating motion, so if you're sure he's not basking at all (even when you're not around) you could try one of the plexiglass ones that attaches to the side with suction cups.

[crock1120]

Yea, definitely check the temp. You might have to raise it a little bit. I had to fiddle around with mine to finally get my turts to go on it. Once I found the right temp, they were going up there all the time.

[steve]

Here's a lot of info on basking: www.redearslider.com/basking.html

[RunninWideOpen]

Thanks for the responses! You were right about the temperature. I went and bought a heat lamp today with a 75w bulb and it is now up to 88 degrees. So far no basking (he's at the bottom of the stairs and I peak down), but he's been pretty preoccupied catching fish. If he doesn't start basking soon I'll go get an even hotter bulb.

It's kinda funny; since Crush wasn't eating the feeder fish we bought, my wife thought it would be nice to go buy some prettier looking fish. She brought home a few of them and Crush started chasing them right away, haha. He's gotten a couple already.

[marisa]

Give him a bit of time to see if he'll bask at 88F before getting a stronger wattage. What's the water temp? If it's high 70's - 80F, you could lower it to the low to mid 70's to provide more contrast between the basking area and water temps. Can he get on the basking platform easily?

[RunninWideOpen]

Hi Marisa-

I've had the water temp at 76F. I just knocked it down one notch (which I think is 74F). I think he can get on the platform easily; he has had his front legs on it before. I guess I won't be fully convinced till I actually catch him basking.

I hope he starts soon. When we got him from the pet store I purposely chose the turt that looked like he was in the worst condition, figuring I can take care of him and get him back to health. But I feel like I'm not doin a very good job now. His shell has some knicks in it and is very rough. It's only on the very top though. The outer edges of his shell look good. Do you know what might cause that?

[marisa]

Hi tohmit,

The nicks in the shell could have been from a number of things---hitting the shell against something either in the tank he was in or even while he was shipped, for example. The rough shell sounds like less-than-adequate living conditions and/or diet.

[RunninWideOpen]

Thanks so much for the help! I came home to day and basking away!