General Care Discussion :: Dock issues

[yodaistheturtle]

Hi guys!
I have a YBS that I've had for over a year
I recently upgraded the tank size and got an xp2 filter
the tank looks great and my turtle looks happy but there is one issue
I also upgraded his dock size, from the zoo med small to the zoo med large and now he wont go on it. I've tried EVERYTHING... It's just exhausting me... Anyone have any suggestions?

Thank you!

[Bumby's Mom]

Is he having trouble actually getting onto it? I know that bigger turtles have a harder time getting onto them. Have you tried putting some food up there so he has to go up there to get it? Nyxie wasn't fond of her zoomed dock so my uncle made her one that looks similar to this: http://www.reptiledirect.com/index.asp? ... ProdID=732

I just re-read your post and now I am wondering if I am wrong thinking the turtle is bigger? How big is the turtle?

[SpotsMama]

How recent was your upgrade? Change makes turtles nervous - especially when they are young. If the change was within the past week or so, you might just need to give it a little time until your turtle gets confident enough to start basking again.

If that's not the problem, then check the temperatures. The most common reason for turtles not basking is that there's not enough difference between the temp of the water and the temp on the basking platform. The basking platform needs to be 10 degrees or so warmer than the water - around 90 degrees. Some turtles (like mine0 prefer it even warmer.

Another question - when you upgraded, did you get a new UVB bulb? If so, what specific brand of bulb and what's the percent UVB (for example, 5.0 or 10.0)?

[Cramer]

^ temperature: most likely case. Other than that, reptiles tend to be fickle and don't like change. Even when they are upgraded to larger enviroments there are a few days where they are uncomfortable being in a new space. Eventually, it will grow accustomed to the new platform. My turtles always are unsure of new basking setups. As soon as I put it in, they sniff it, bite it and crawl up and down it a hundred times, as if checking to see if it's safe, before they will have a good quality bask. Hope it works out...

[yodaistheturtle]

thank you for the help. He is bigger, im not exactly sure how big but i would say about 6". I thought the basking temp was hot enough but its only about 5 degrees hotter then the water temp. I will buy a new bulb and give that a shot, does anyone have any brand recommendations? Thanks so much.

[mikee]

YodaTurt -- If your turtle is 6" he will do just fine at about 75 degrees. Your basking should be about 90 to 92 degrees. He will need the heat and the uvb rays do metabolize his food. I think the forum members above hit it on the head with something new and the temperature differences. I may take as long as a week for him to warm up to it. In the wild they are their most vulnerable out of the water. The suggestion of putting some food just out of reach is a good one. You will be able to tell if he gets up there while you are not around.

[Bumby's Mom]

Watch when the turtle goes to get on the dock, it might be that he simply just weighs too much. If he is struggling trying to get on it then you might need to figure out a way to keep it more steady or get a new dock. Definitely get the basking temp up around 90-95 and see how much that helps.

[RunninWideOpen]

Sounds like a simple heat issue. Brand isn't of importance when getting the heat bulb; you can use any regular household bulb of the right wattage that puts off the correct amount of heat. I have to change from 60w bulbs in the summer to 100 and 150w bulbs in the winter; it's something that needs monitored regularly to keep the temperature in the right spot.

now when you're getting UVB bulbs, you'll want to pay attention to brand and specs. (you do need 2 bulbs running simulteneously, unless you have a special mercury vapor bulb). you want a UVB bulb rated 5.0 or 8.0 (some people on here use 10.0 as well). The Reptiglo bulbs work great for me.

[mogall]

Yoda - I understand your frustration - just went through the same issue with the large zoo med turtle dock. My big girl (6") struggled to get on and stay on - it would tip up or once she got on and moved a bit, it would tilt down and she would slid off. After trying things like filling a plastic cup with small rocks (for weight) and putting it underneath, I finally solved the problem by taking the medium dock that I had upgraded from and attached it to the larger dock with a couple of zip ties. You could even cut the medium turtle dock and possibly silicone half of it underneath the larger dock.... kinda of in a + configuration - does that make sense?

[SpotsMama]

Mogall, what you suggest for the dock is exactly what i did. I cut up a medium dock and glued it to the bottom of a large dock with aquarium silicon to give the large dock more buoyancy. It worked!

[mogall]

Great! Love it when things work out!

[yodaistheturtle]

Thank you all so much for your help I wanted to let you know that I did as suggested, and upped the watt on the heat lamp and when i woke up from a nap he was on the dock basking away! I couldn't be happier!

[SpotsMama]

[emma]

thats great!