Hi! Introduce yourselves here.

We recently purchased a red ear slider from out local pet store. I fell in love with him at the beginning. giving him the name Borris. I just have a question, he doesn't want to bask. He eats normal, and we provide a UV light and a heat light and I make sure everything is at the right temp. I think he might be shy because when I came home from work he was on his rock basking but there was no light for him. What should I do, we are going to move soon and we will put him in his own room would this help or should I be worried. He's to awesome for me to let him suffer :mrgreen:

Welcome to the forum!

Make sure your light is UVB, not just UV. Turtles can be very shy, I put my lights on a timer. My turtle does most most of is basking in the morning when the house is still quiet. As long as the temps are correct and the basking area is easy to get on I bet he'll get the hang of it. Post a picture of your setup if you want more specific advice

Hi, welcome to the forum! A picture would be very helpful. Do you have a thermometer to measure the basking/water temps?

I am not quite sure if it is a UVB light that we currently have, I borrowed that from a friend who had one on hand. But we bought one today from our local pet store, and a better thermometer. Our water temp was a couple degrees higher then what it should of been according to all the info I looked up. He eats though, and swims around. I think he is shy, my husband said when I am at work he can catch Borris basking but if my husband makes a sudden movement then he goes right back in the water. I will get a picture posted as soon I move tomorrow. I am giving him a whole new set up at the new place and making sure its perfect.

Also, I am curious is there a minimum amount of time a turtle can bask at one time. The guy at the pet store said that they don't have to sit on the dock for 1 hour at time. That his turtles do it at there own convience, and I shouldn't worry since borris probably knows whats best for Borris.

I wouldn't be concerned about not seeing Borris bask. Turtles are shy by nature and are very aware of their surroundings. Often times our Martha will be off her rock and in the water before we even get near her pond. Borris is most likely basking more than you realize. The primary reason turtles bask is for energy. They are cold blooded and gain energy by raising their body temperature. Borris doesn't need the same amount of energy to find food since he is fed and doesn't need to forage for it like he would in the wild.

It will probably take some time for Borris to adjust to his new home. When we moved our Martha from her outside pond to her inside pond in late fall it took her almost a week to adjust and start basking for more than a few minutes at a time. I'm guessing when we move her back outside, she'll have a similar adjustment period. I just provide her with a hiding spot at the bottom of each pond so she can feel safe and hopefully lower her stress level.

-Michael

I agree, once he adjusts he'll bask longer but they'll always remain a bit skittish when they're up there.

Thank you guys so much. And he has a adjusted he basks now. He will stare at you though if you are in the same room and if you give eye contact he goes in his shell. I just love this forum, so much information.

Hi! Introduce yourselves here. :: Just recently became A RES owner and love him

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