General Care Discussion :: New Turtle will not get out of the water

Taking care of your turtle's overall health.

Post Posted: Fri Mar 24, 2006 7:18 pm   New Turtle will not get out of the water

I've had my turtle for 3 days and he will not get out of the water to bask. The water temp is anywhere from 70-4 degrees and the basking area is around 88 degrees. He eats when I feed him but is still scared when I walk by the tank. Also should i leave the UVB light on at night? And he is 4-5 inches.
rtswim400@yahoo.com
 
Posts: 35
Joined: Mar 24, 2006
Location: columbus, oh

Post Posted: Fri Mar 24, 2006 7:26 pm   

I dont know if this applies for something that is 4-5 inches but when i got my new hatchling, she wouldn't bask either for almost a week. She would eat the floating pellets but would spend all her time in the water. Sometimes i would walk in the room and see her basking but as soon as she heard me come in she would scurry right back into the water. Finally after a week she was fully comfertable with me being there watching and i could even stick my face right up to the tank and she wouldn't mind at all. I think your turtle just needs time to get used to you.
Try to be like the turtle -- at ease in your own shell.

Davinci and Leonardo <3
TNTurtles
 
Posts: 196
Joined: Mar 19, 2006
Location: Erwin, TN

Post Posted: Fri Mar 24, 2006 7:32 pm   

New turtles regardless of the size will tend to be shy when you first get them. As for the water temp.. do you have a submersible heater? The temperature should remain constant with just the basking area changing temp depending on if the light is on or not. The UVB light should be on a daylight schedule along with the UVA light, which is around 10-12 hours a day. What sort of basking area do you have, is it easy for the turtle to get on?

As TNTurtles said, just give him/her time to adjust.
Carol
User avatar
cam722
Retired Mod
 
Posts: 2109
Joined: Jun 2, 2005
Location: Northeast PA

Post Posted: Fri Mar 24, 2006 7:47 pm   

Thanks for the help, the basking area i made out of rock bought at the store. I bought a ramp to make it easier for him to get on the area. should i just go buy one of those floating ramps? also for lighting should i take the tank cover off? it is a screened one and i cut lagre holes in it to not block the uvb light.
1- 4inch RES: Crash but we call her turtle
rtswim400@yahoo.com
 
Posts: 35
Joined: Mar 24, 2006
Location: columbus, oh

Post Posted: Sun Mar 26, 2006 5:35 pm   

thanks for all the help here. she finally got out of the water today. Also this site is great and I have read prolly thousands of posts the last couple of days and learned tons. I wish I had found this site before buying my res becuase I would have done so much stuff differently, mpst of all is buying a different tank. I am moving soon and when I move I am going to invest in a different tank. I got one of those long ones and really dont like(not enough money to buy a different one right now.
1- 4inch RES: Crash but we call her turtle
rtswim400@yahoo.com
 
Posts: 35
Joined: Mar 24, 2006
Location: columbus, oh

Post Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 1:15 pm   

Make sure the rock that's being used for basking isn't abrasive--they can wear down their shells quickly moving around on abrasive surfaces.
"You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed." -Antoine de Saint Exupery-
marisa
Retired Mod
 
Posts: 12993
Joined: Apr 21, 2005
Location: CT, USA


Return to General Care Discussion

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 45 guests