General Care Discussion :: New RES owner with a question

[lukepghpa]

I set up my first RES tank the other day, 72 gallon bowfront, i've had fish and lizards for years so i figured turtles would be an easy transition, well after reading numerous articles on this site i discovered turtles were going to be more challenging than i thought the two RES that i bought are doing really well, eating alot and are swimming all over the tank, my question is neither my wife or i have seen the RES on their basking platform yet. Does it take a few days for them to find it and eventually climb on it? i have a nice rock formation in the one corner of the tank they climb on it but they can only get their heads out of the water to breath. i do have a heat lamp over top of the basking platform. should i just let them be to do their own thing? my wife says i'm mothering them too much lol! thanks in advance for any info, i'm looking forward to raising my new RES
luke pittsburgh (LETS GO PENS!)

[SpotsMama]

Welcome to the world of turtle keepers! Yes, keeping an aquatic turtle is pretty involved - at the beginning. Once you get a good setup, then it's easy. The key is getting good equipment and providing plenty of space right from the beginning.

And yes, it takes new turtles awhile to get comfortable enough in a new setting to bask. It can take a couple of weeks. Then, they may first bask when they think no one is looking. You may first know about it when you walk into the room unexpectedly and hear a little "plop". Also, you can try leaving sometime (like a pellet of food) on the basking platform and if, when you come back later, it's been moved, then you'll know they've been basking.

Eventually, they will get so comfortable in their new home that, not only will they bask in front of you, they will let you pick them up right off the basking platform. But this will probably take a few years.

[TheComputerGremlin]

Listen to your wife, for now at least! It does take a few weeks for some turtles to become accustomed to the basking platform. You can try to entice them up there by putting something like a freeze-dried or even live cricket up there and see if it disappears. Many turtles also remain "closet baskers". I rarely see my turtle basking, but my husband sees her frequently basking. You can try putting up a camera to see if you catch them when you aren't around.

[bigG]

I would let them get used to the tank. I recently removed the rubber feet from my basking platform and just let it float around the tank. My female would climb on top as it was a surfboard. There is also a large rock which she uses.