Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have 2 RES and I just put another in. It's been there for about a month but seems more shy than the other turtles I have were when they had been in the tank for a month. I think that part of this may be due to the fact that I do not have a hide box for them. I re-arranged my tank with a new basking area, but now there is no where for them to hide. So now my new RES just sort-of swims up and down into the back side of the tank. What kind of Hide Boxes is everyone else using, and do I need one?

Also- my new turtle is a female and she is so shy (or so I think) that she doesn't want to mate with my male, so he bothers her to mate. So I think if for no other reason, the female needs a place to hide from the male.

Thanks in advance.

I also have a new RES that is extremely shy and often just runs across the back of the tank or hides underneath the submersible heater.

My current hiding space is made up of pieces of slate rock. Not too sharp as to hurt the turts. I found them at a local pet store. Two squat pieces to make up the walls and one long piece across the top. It makes a pretty good cave. (my turts are about 2" long)

The shy one hangs out there all the time. I originally tried cutting a plastic bottle in half. It was a solid color so they can feel like they were hiding something. It tended to float so I weighed it down with some pebbles but I like the cave better. The flat part is underwater but shallow enough that they could rest upon the top and stick their heads out to breathe. That's where they sleep nowadays.