Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2011 5:14 pm My turtle doesn't like his outside basking time :(
It's summer here in Idaho, and I have been trying to get Sheldon out in the sun more. I am having issues creating a scenario where I feel he is safe, and he is not stressed out. I used to fill a baby pool with water and have an "island" in the middle. He never basked, I suppose because he never spent enough time in there to feel comfortable. This year he is tall enough to make me nervous having him in there, he is on the verge of being able to escape.
Then I had a whole pond area that I build specifically for Sheldon, but I decided it was too hard/time consuming/expensive to have a running pond. Especially trying to keep it turtle escape proof and chemical free.
So I have been using the empty pond thing to contain him while he catches some rays. He spends the entire time trying to climb the walls. He is clearly stressed out, not enjoying himself. I don't want to torture my turtle!! I feel like a bad turtle mama. I have put him in the yard before to wander, but he is on a constant mission to jam himself into every awkward space he finds. And he is quick!
I tried making a pen out of chicken wire stuck a few inches into the ground, but he would try to jam himself thought the openings so hard I thought for sure he would injure himself...
I am out of ideas.
What does everyone else do?
Is it really even worth the stress of taking him out of his aquarium to get some natural sun? I felt like last year the sun helped his shell, but maybe that was all in my mind...