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I need help! I rescued a male and female turtle from nasty living conditions. I have them set up in very nice living conditions now and have got them to start eating good food. I'm having one issue though. For some reason the turtles I rescued are not getting on the platform to bask. I have never seen them up there at all. I have 2 other turtles in a seperate tank that are usually up on thier platform basking allot, but these new pair are never on thier platform. Is this normal? Should I be concerned? They don't seem to be bothered by not basking but I'm sure they would be happier if they did.

it takes time to be comfortable to their surrounding. so since you seem to have just gotten it you have to give some time untill they settle in and they should be just fine. its actually normal and its no real concern just wait and she will go up there.

How many turtles are sharing the same habitat? It could be that your older turtles are territorial and your new rescues aren't exactly being welcomed into basking territory.

There is only 2. The 2 I rescued I put them in thier own tank with all thier own stuff.

Do you have a heat bulb and a UVB bulb? If so, it's likely that they're just not quite used to their new surroundings yet. They could possibly be basking when you're not there....but even if they're not, the turtles will bask when it gets to the point when they *need* to...instinct!

I do have both heat and UVB. I mimiced the conditions in my first one for these 2 (bigger tank of course since they are bigger turtles) since my first 2 seem to be doing wonderful. I have had these new turtles for about a month and it seems strange that I have never seen them basking if even for a glimps before I scare them and they go flying off the platform.

A trick to see if they are basking when you're not around is to put something treat like up on the platform, and see if it disappears!

Yeah, I was attempting to train these turtles to climb onto the platform to get thier food in a dish, but it didn't seem like they were getting up there to get it cause the food was still there right where I left it.

Turtles typically won't eat out of the water...but try something particularily tasty that they have more incentive to go up and get...boiled chicken for example.

Maybe if you can post pictures of their tank set up, someone will notice something that might help.
If their docks are dry and well out of the water, do you ever notice any little wet spots? Like little foot or "belly" prints?

what are basking and water temps? do u have any clue how old the turtles are?

Do they have privacy when they bask? If not, try putting a barrier around the tank where the basking area is.

How warm is the basking area and how warm is the water?