Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have a small RES, probably three inches. He used to never get off his turtle dock in the light. I changed the gravel in his tank and cleaned it about a week ago and now i never see him basking anymore. I thought maybe the basking bulb got weak so i went and bought a new one and he still will not get up on the dock. anyone have any ideas?

I'll take a shot at this riddle. I am not quite as turtle savy as I am crocodilian savy. However, they are both similar in several ways. If this was a crocodilian, I would first take a look at the water temps. What are this water temps like? If the water is warm enough that he does not need to thermoregulate, then he usually wont. Also, what types of stressors are around him? If you are constantly in the room, he might feel stressed about basking for some odd reason. Therefore, he might only be coming out to bask when the entire area is quiet and there are no other life-forms that can bother him near by. I would take a look at water temps, compared to basking temps. If he would be cooler by coming out of the water, I am sure he would prefer to stay in the water. Vice versa if the water was too cool.

I could be incorrect on this assumption however, but crocodilians and turtles are very similar in many aspects. This is how I would typically treat this issue if this were my alligators.

Hope this helps in some small way!

Best Wishes,

Chris

On money Croc-guy. Your instincts are correct. They do have that in common with crocs.

Hmmm......I can't really say what caused him to stop basking, but I know mine won't bask if I am in the room. I know he does though because when I walk in or turn on the light, he hits the water. You might want to try moving him to an area that isn't around a lot of traffic. The temp suggestion is a good one, too. He has to want to be up on the basking dock. Hope this helps.

thank you both for responding. the weird thing is he used to get up on the rock and then dive into the water when i came in the room, now he's never there.. I think the crocodile guy might have had a point. My AC went out at my house upstairs so maybe that heated up the water too much. I alos noticed he is shedding alot-could this have anything to do with it.

The exessive shedding could be due to over feeding? What is his diet? How much do you feed him?
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Keith

1 Pembroke Welsh Corgi (Kaiya)
1 RES (King Koopa aka Bowser)
2 Betta's (Garcia and Bonham)
1 Fiance' (Lacy - Requires more work and attention then any animal. Not Recommended......j/k)

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