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How long do turtles usually bask in a day? We have an RES that is about 2" and seems to be spending more time basking these days. He has a healthy appetite, although he doesn't seem to catch all the fish we put in his tank. (The fishies just keep getting bigger.)

It varies with different turtles on different days. Some days Spot basks 5 hours or more. Other days, maybe an hour. I don't know what makes the difference with him.

It varies based on the turtle. There are some days I can't get Sheba off the dock & she sits there for 8 hours straight. (!). Other times she won't get up there at all...

I think they bask when they feel the need to, whether it's to get warm, digest their food, etc. So, it will vary. My turts don't bask for the same amount of time every day, sometimes I wonder if they've basked at all. Sometimes I think the weather has something to do with it as well.

How long can a turtle go with just UVB, and no heat? The way I have my tank set-up, there is a turtle log under a florescent tube light, and then there is a basking spot that has a T-rex MVB over it.

My smaller RES has not gone up in the basking spot yet, he only basks on the log. Is this ok? Or should i "dry dock" him under the heat everyday for an hour or so? Or should I take the log out, and upset him even more? The basking temp under the MVB is 90 F, and the water is 76-77 F.

Here is the log, and the basking spot, I have since moved the tube light up, so the is is about 8in. away from the log...

Give him a little more time. The heat on the basking spot should eventually entice him. He's probably still feeling a little shy right now.

You might take that log out for awhile so he has no option but to go to go up the ramp.

Very attractive setup, by the way!

Thanks, I would liked to have made it more "pretty," but I am on a very tight budget. And you don't think that will upset him if I take out his log?

If he's very fond of that log you might leave it in for awhile and see if he won't go ahead and give the basking platform a try. The heat should interest him. But if he still won't get up on the basking platform, try taking the log out for a day and see what happens.

Ok, it is going on two mouths since I built the new basking spot, and he has still barely touched the ramp, so I think I will take it out and see what he dose.

Thanks for the help,

Nathan Radle.

WOW!!! That worked incredibly well!! At first he just went and sat on top of the jungle plant, so I moved that below the water surface, and I have all ready seen him up there twice!!! How long do you think I should keep it like that for? Right now the only thing that is touching the surface of the water, is the ramp up to the basking spot.

N4784N R4613 wrote:Thanks, I would liked to have made it more "pretty," but I am on a very tight budget. And you don't think that will upset him if I take out his log?

I think it's a great setup! Anything that works well is pretty enough for them, so it is pretty enough for me too!

As long as he is basking, it doesn't matter if it is on the log or on the platform. Just give him more time.

I think the issue is that the good light is over the basking platform. I think he'll quickly learn to love the basking platform because it's toasty warm. Maybe put the log back after a day or two and see what happens.

OK, thanks for all the help ,

Nathan Radle.

just let your RES do whatever it want. It will chase fish when it want.