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I am using a standard glass stick thermometer to measure the temp of the basking area. However, I'm getting different readings based on where I measure. If I lay the thermometer flat on the ground, the temperature reaches 37 degrees. If I suspend it in the air, about 2-3 cm from the ground and near to the light source, the temperature is 34. Which temperature measurement should I be using?

My RES's shell is about 3 cm long. I believe I should have a basking area temp of about 32-35 degrees, right?

I would move the lamp up a little bit since you have a hatchling. If possible, have a larger basking area so your turtle can move around and choose it's preferred temperature.

you can try one of those thermometers used for lizard tanks. They stick to the side with Velcro. Just put it at about the same height as your turtle. It won't tell you exactly what the temp is at the exact spot your turtle is sitting, but it will give a general idea of whether or not the area is way too hot or too cold.

I use a cooking thermometer. Its very accurate. Around 90 degrees or 32°C should do.I just check the hottest spot on the basking platform. Laying flat on the dock.I keep it a little cooler for my little ones.

Thanks for the replies. After giving the bulb a week to break in the temperature has gone down (Now at 31-33 degrees when laying flat) so it seems fine. Water temp is around 26-28 degrees.

However, my RES seems to have another problem. He seems to be hibernating. Unfortunately when I bought the RES I was badly informed by the shop owner about the requirements (He told me no need for land, that the turtle would be fine in a tank of water, and just as long as the water was heated I'd be fine). So after noticing my RES was sleeping a lot I did research to find out what was going on. Long story short, he now has a basking area, UVB bulb, etc. However, he still sleeps a lot. When he does wake up, he seems fine. He eats, swims, etc. I can't find any signs of disease. When is sleeping though, he is not very responsive. Once he wakes up though, he is very responsive. He also only seems to like to eat pellets. I've offered him chicken liver, beef, spinach, shrimp (live and dead), and he doesn't want any of it. But put a few pellets in the water and he goes chasing after them. One time I saw him chasing after the fish and shrimp in the aquarium, but he was too slow to catch them. Any ideas?

sleeping is not so bad. Penelope alwayssnoozes while basking and sometimes even sleeps ubderwater during the day.If he is eating and swimng and acting normal when not sleeping, |I would not worry about it.

@Kansasslider - I like the cooking thermometer idea. Is it the kind you poke into meat? Only asking because Penelope decided to make a meal out of the glass thermometer I was using for water temp. Sifting through umpteen pounds of sand to find crushed glass stunk! I bought another and the tip broke before I even got it in the water (they are so poor quality these days). That meat thermomer might come in handy to test water temp (if I find a way to keep her from eating it)

The cooking thermometer is called an ACURITE .

typci wrote:
However, my RES seems to have another problem. He seems to be hibernating. Unfortunately when I bought the RES I was badly informed by the shop owner about the requirements (He told me no need for land, that the turtle would be fine in a tank of water, and just as long as the water was heated I'd be fine). So after noticing my RES was sleeping a lot I did research to find out what was going on. Long story short, he now has a basking area, UVB bulb, etc. However, he still sleeps a lot. When he does wake up, he seems fine. He eats, swims, etc. I can't find any signs of disease. When is sleeping though, he is not very responsive. Once he wakes up though, he is very responsive. He also only seems to like to eat pellets. I've offered him chicken liver, beef, spinach, shrimp (live and dead), and he doesn't want any of it. But put a few pellets in the water and he goes chasing after them. One time I saw him chasing after the fish and shrimp in the aquarium, but he was too slow to catch them. Any ideas?

It's not really hibernating, but more of a change in behavour during winter months (or, as Steve usually describes it, seasonal disorder ). The same thing happens to my every winter, she sleeps a lot, that is more than usual, even during daytime, and she tends to reject certain foods. If your turt is acting normal when awake, I'd say don't worry, but do keep an eye on him. Btw, spinach is not really recommended, neither is meat, generally, so if he doesn't eat those, it's for his own good, I guess