General Care Discussion :: new to owning turtles

[christu]

Hi, I don't know if its just my turtle trying to get used to a new home, but she tends to just swim around alot and not bother with her basking area. Is something wrong, or is my assumption correct that she's exploring her new home?

[VanishingReality]

Hatchling?

They tend to swim a lot more and bask, she probably is basking when you aren't looking. If you hear a plunk then you know she is basking.

[christu]

Well, no, I got her from a pet shop. She does stay beneath the light with her head above water. . . but never the entire body. I'm not sure how old, but she's about 4-5 inches long or so.

[VanishingReality]

She is probably just adjusting to her new surroundings. Give her some time before she basks and it might take some time before she basks around you. She has her head above water to breathe.

[christu]

Okay. Thanks for your help.

[Doc_Moore_J]

Mine did the same thing. I posted too hahaha. I am new also. Mine took a few days to get used to his basking area. Now he hardly ever leaves it.

[packfan1]

Could be a couple of things. Do you have a good basking area? age? getting use to new place? A good basking area needs to be where the res can completely climb out. Need both good uva and uvb lighting. Uva provides the heat as I have read and the air temp needs to be about 10 degrees warmer than the water your res lives in. Could just need a few days to get use to new place. Speaking of place how big?

[christu]

It's a 20-gallon tank, which is tall. The basking area is a floating dock I bought at Petco. She can climb right up, though, she hasn't yet. I think the light is just UVA.

I think its a large enough tank for just one turtle.

[joeybsmooth]

Hey Welcome.

First thing you need to know is that you can help us help you by posting a picture when you ask things like this.

[steve]

What's the temperature of the water?

[christu]

I'm not sure. I came home for lunch today and the door was closed, but had a crack in it. She was basking away until i entered. In fact as I type this now, she's trying to crawl back onto the floating dock. She's skiddish.

[steve]

You can cover the sides of the tank to offer a bit more privacy. But some turts will always behave differently.

I also recommend you pick up a couple of thermometers... water and basking temps are very important.