General Care Discussion :: basking

[str1p]

i have a quick question about basking, ive heard people say that 90-95 degrees is a good tempature for basking, but my turtle wont bask unless it gets up into the 100's. my water tempature is currently 78. is this too hot for him?, does anyone have any suggestions? my turtle is about 4" and he has a zoomed turtle dock with a 75 watt heat buld and the repti-glow 5.0 uvb bulb.

[Luciano]

Are you sure he doesn't bask when it's 90? Your water temp seems fine for his size - maybe 75 if you can fine tune it. I would double check that dock temp and then give him a little privacy.

[seanwb]

Try dropping the temerature a little. I had my RES stop basking after I put a heater in and increased temp by 3 degrees. After getting concerned about her not basking I dropped the temperature 3 degrees overnight. Next morning she was basking.

Please do not tell my RES, but I then fooled her by putting the temperature up 1/2 degree each morning for six days. She never noticed.

[mike hill]

Strip -- If your basking temp is correct I would suggest that you slowly lower the water temp a degree at a time. They seem to like the difference. If you have handle on the correct temp. lower it to 70 and I think you will see him like the 90 to 91 degrees. Do you have uvb lighting also? m.

[str1p]

thanks for the advice i will start lowing the temp tomorrow since i dont have class and will be able to monitor him, and yes i have the repti-glow 5.0 uvb bulb. he has been shedding his skin for some days now i belive hes about to shed his schutes as well, but the lady i got him from didnt have him in a big enough tank and i dont think she had proper lighting so im sure he has some retained schutes, im still kinda new to this so do you guys have any advice on the shedding process, anything i can do to help him out? ive heard that foods with vit-E help.

[theartbook35]

Turtles, and all reptiles for that matter, are highly attracted to warm temperatures. The warmer the basking spot, the more they want to bask. However, the basking spot really does not need to be above 90 degrees, and also, the hotter the basking spot, the hotter the water. If you are using a heat emitter, there will be a 10 degree difference or so, depending on the wattage. The water does not need to be 80 degrees, that's actually quite warm and starts humidity which in essence makes a turtle shed too much.

As said, lower the water's temperature, and your turtle will be able to thermoregulate more.

Turtles also love to bask in privacy. In the wild, it's dangerous for a turtle to leave the water to bask, so, they'll want a basking area surrounded by plants, and some rocks to cosy up to are nice too. I have a big, leafy vine surrounding my basking area and they really like it.

[mike hill]

Strip -- Keep in mind that the uvb lights loose their uvb rays over time. I ch ange my bulb every 6 months to make sure he get the rays they need. That may be over doing it a little but I am retired and try and look after my turtles. m.

[steve]

I would gradually decrease the temps too. What kind of basking light do you have? If you don't have one, maybe you can try a flood light that will produce a range of basking temps.

[str1p]

the basking light i have is the exo terra sun glow 75 watt, and ive only had my exo terra repti-glow 5.0 uvb bulb for about 3 weeks. my room isnt climate controlled and here in Atlanta we have been having some crazy weather which is making this difficult as well, im still dropping the water temperature little by little. i dont think its a privacy issue cause he gets on the dock, stretches his head out then goes to the other end and does the same thing then jumps back in the water, so i think he just doesn't like the tempature.

[marisa]

If you're using a 75-watt bulb and the basking area temp is getting into the 100s, how close is it to your turtle? How big of tank is your turtle in?

At his size, assuming he's healthy, you could eventually lower the water to the low 70's; a basking area temp in the range of 88-90F should then be fine.

[str1p]

roughly 12-13 inches, when i say 100s im referring to the actual tempature of the dock ( i have a temp gun), not the air temperature, he is in a 55 gal tank at the moment and he is roughly 4"

[marisa]

A 75-watt bulb 12-13 inches away is causing the dock to heat to 100+ degrees?

[str1p]

right at 100 yes, but when i saw how hot is was i moved the bulb back, so its been at about 90-95 all week and filburt doesnt seem to like it, ill post pictures of my set up tonight when i get home from work.