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My turtles get really scared when i come into the room. They swim frantically around the tank for a few seconds and bump their heads against everything. Should i be concerned?

I have my lights on for the turtles from the time i wake up for about 10-12 hours but when i turn the lights off, its still light in the room because im still awake. Right now i cover the tank up and was thinking of using a timer to shift the hours a little later but they wake up in the morning when i dont turn on the lights. If you understand what im saying...feel free to suggest what i should do or comment what you do.

Lastly, one of my turtles has a little bit of white stuff under his head. Is that from not basking because i havent seen him bask yet but ive seen the other one bask and it doesnt have anything under its head. The same turtle also has the part of the shell(where the back legs are) curving up a little bit. Just to be safe is that an early sign of pyramiding?

My turtles are 1 inch long
76 degree water
86 degree basking spot
i feed them mostly pellets

I just want to be safe rather than sorry.

My turts are still scared of me and I've had them over a year. Once they start associating you with food, they will calm down some. Just give them a chance to adjust.

A good rule of thumb for the lighting schedule is to follow the sun. So, in the winter months, leaving the lights on for 7-8 hours is acceptible too. Rotating the schedule slightly, so that your lights aren't affecting the turtle, shouldn't be a problem. Still the same amount of hours, just a little later in the morning and evenings, right?

It's hard to say what the white stuff is. Are you seeing it when the shell is wet or dry? Can you take a picture of it and post it? The curving of the shell is called shell curling. A slight bit can be somewhat normal for a lot of RES, but when you get a lot it is not healthy. Pyramiding is when each individual scute is peaked in the middle...much like the shape of the overall shell.

It wouldn't hurt to bump you water temp up a couple of degrees and basking temp too. Also, you'll want to start offering veggies soon. They may not eat them right away, but the sooner the better.

Im trying to give them the right amount of sunlight. My question is what do you do after the sun goes down but your still up.

And how do you get the basking temperature up more. The light is as close as i can and im using a 75 watt heat bulb. And if im correct, i read inside the clamp lamp and it siad not to use more than a 75 watt bulb. My water heater right now doesnt have a temp control thing, it just heats to 76-79 degrees.

How far away is your heat lamp? I'm using a 60W bulb and I could get the temp above 100 degrees if I had it too close. It sounds like you might need to do some rearranging in order to get your heat lamp closer.

My heat lamp is as close as possible which is about 3 inches away. Maybe i got a defective lamp.

3 inches is very close.. have you used a thermometer to measure the temp? You can always opt for a more powerful lamp and keep it further away.

Its actually about 88 degrees but its still close. Im using my water thermometer to mdasure the temperature. Does that make a difference?

About the white stuff around his head, i think he is just shedding his skin.

Turtlefriend wrote:My turtles get really scared when i come into the room. They swim frantically around the tank for a few seconds and bump their heads against everything. Should i be concerned?

no, that's normal. like when you get a new kitten and it constantly hides. just give it time and eventually it will realise you mean it no harm. turtles are harder shells to crack (no pun intended) but they do (or don't) come around in their own time.

I have my lights on for the turtles from the time i wake up for about 10-12 hours but when i turn the lights off, its still light in the room because im still awake. Right now i cover the tank up and was thinking of using a timer to shift the hours a little later but they wake up in the morning when i dont turn on the lights. If you understand what im saying...feel free to suggest what i should do or comment what you do.

i use christmas lights, so i can still see at night and i'm not overstimulating the turts. it makes me think twilight. i think a timer's a good idea.

your last question i'll let the experts handle, i honestly do not know. it's best to post a pic so they can tell you for sure what's going on with your shell questions.

to raise basking temps, raise water level closer to the lamp. covering the tank's top (except basking area) also helps.

I keep my basking light on a timer and have it set for about 12 hours in the winter and 12 to 13 in the summer. They are awake before it comes on and usually when it goes out they calm dow and go to sleep even though we are still in the room as long as we do not look down in the tank. As far as being afaird of you, just give them time and remember to talk to them everyday so they can get use to your voice.