My 6 mo old RES turtle doesn't bask, what should I do?
I have a UVA/UVB lamp for him and rocks for him to bask on. I leave the basking light on during the day and turn it off at night so he can sleep. Although my little guy, he's about 2 inches now, seems happy and active and swims around and eats a LOT, he never crawls up onto his rock to bask during the day, but I know he tries to get up on it at night because sometimes the rocks will be moved or knocked over in the morning. What should I do? I'm worried that he's not getting enough sun but I don't want to leave the light on all night. Whenever I try to put him up on the rock he just crawls back into the water.
answer: if he is acting healthy and looks healthy ( no discoloration, hard shell) then it is probably fine. make sure he has very easy access on to the basking platform. as he grows older and bigger he will bask more often. my yellow bellied slider will not bask if im in the room so your turtle might not either. just be sure he looks and acts healthy and as he grows older he will try to bask more often. as for the light, his night day schedule is important so make sure they are on for 12 hours and off for 12 hours every day. hope this helps. good luck
Source(s):
reptile owner
UVB i hope as uva is bad for animals in large doses. Do you have a heat lamp over the dock/basking rocks as this will encourage it to bask. Its not likely you will see it basking for a while as its still young and will have to get used to you in the room. Best you will get for a little while is the plop sound of it jumping into the water when you enter the room, dont worry its normal. Although i dont know alot about RES turtles im guessing they are like others and care should be taken not to over feed it as later on it can cause health issues. Do you take it out into the sum for 10-15min once a week? that helps alot.
Turtles bask for reasons other than getting UV-B rays. Eventually, the turtle might feel secure enough to bask during the day. In the meantime, don't worry. If it refuses to bask during the day for more than a couple of weeks, you may want to add liver to its diet in order to provide vitamin D.
