Hi! Introduce yourselves here. :: greatings fellow turtlers

[hector]

I inherited a female RES when my sons ex-girl friend went to college. I am so amazed at the personality that this new member of my family has. She's very smart and looks you directly in the eye when you talk to her. When I got "Hector" the previous owner was under the impression that she was a he. Hector had been kept in a kitchen sink and was covered in algae. I moved her into a ten gallon aquarium with a basking platform, heat lamp, filtration, etc. She loved to stretch and bask for hours. Thanks to this site for all the great information. Just today I went out and got a 30x12x12 aquatic turtle habitat kit from Zoo Med. Hector is about 4.5 inches long and 3 inches or so wide. This was the largest habit I could afford. But now I have a problem and I am hoping anyone can give me some sound advice. Hector has spent her entire life in about 4 inches of water. I wanted her to be able to swim and frolic have have more room. Now she has about 7-8 inches of water depth. And one of those floating basking docks with a ramp that she can climb. She can scoot along the bottom just like she did in her other habitats but she seems to have forgotten how to swim, no joke. She stretches up on her toes and stretches her neck and her snoot clears the water so she gets a breath when she wants. But she can't seem to swim up to the ramp of the floating basking platform. I have a proper heat lamp and a UVB lamp and the temperature of the basking area is about 88-90 degrees. She acts like she wants to get there but can't figure out how to swim up to the ramp and climb aboard. I even went as far as to gently guide her to the ramp and place her on it then move her onto the main area. she sat there for about 3 seconds and slide into the water. She goes under the ramp and stretches up to the underside and pushes it with her nose. I'm hoping this is a phase and that some one out there has some good advice. I've grown attached to Hector. She's a hoot, she comes to the edge of the tank and watches the computer monitor and gets excited when I view the photo galleries. I hope to hear from anyone soon. And thanks for listening .

[dumbork14]

"But she can't seem to swim up to the ramp of the floating basking platform."
"he acts like she wants to get there but can't figure out how to swim up to the ramp and climb aboard."

i've encountered it once, they advised me to put some pellets on the basking area. i followed it and dumbork was able to go to the ramp, explored the area, got the pellet, then swam back to the water to eat her pellet. after a while she climbed back to the basking area on her own. maybe you can try that?

turtles are great swimmers, i'm sure your turt's just skittish at first. also remember that a turtle needs 10 gallons per inch, so hector can be put in a 40 gallon tank or larger without having difficulty in swimming (unless she's sick -- that's a cause of concern).

[ljapa]

If money is tight, you can go with a rubbermaid plastic bin until you can purchase a larger aquarium.

If she's forgotten how to swim, then add rocks or other things to the water so she can climb out to the basking platform. Still leave deep water. I bet she'll be back to swimming soon.

She may also be too big to climb onto one of those floating docs.

Another thing you might try is to build an above tank basking area. That gives you more room for your tank, and once she learns to swim, let's you raise the water even more.

[MEandYouPhoto]

I too inheritied my turtle from someone who didn't take the time to learn how to care for him correctly. I had Franklin in a 20 gallon tank and for him to get air all he had to do was stretch to reach the top. Well I was eventually able to get my hands on a 55 gallon tank and he went from having 5 inches of water to having over 15. Turtles are natural swimmers and more importantly they need air to breathe since they cant get the air from the water like fish can. The first time he was put in the deeper tank he checked it out and then realizing he needed some air he started to stretch up to get some. Only to very quickly figure out that wasnt gonna work. He immediately remembered how to swim to the top and get air and within a day or two he was swimming again. it just takes some time for them to get used to their surroundings.

I thought my turtle never basked until I came home one day and there he was all stretched out and taking in the heat. Turtles like to bask in private I guess.

Welcome to the site BTW. I have found its information and the helpfulness of its members to be invaluable!

[steve]

As others have said... slowly increase the water levels and have areas where she can hang on to or stay submerged. They are natural swimmers, so this shouldn't be a long process. I am wary of those types of "kits", is it possible you can return it?

[TheSegundos]

Yeah it sucks you bought that Kit cuz I could imagine it sucks! I bought one too and it was worthless! Maybe for hatchings butnot for a 4''! when my turts where in 4''water they wouldn't swim until I put them in about 14'' of water! Also they like shallow area so they can rest! As for basking one of them isn't shy and does it all the time, the other is extremely shy and doesn't really bask until we leave!

[TheSegundos]

I would say get her a bigger tank with plenty of water to swim in!

[VeipaCray]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

[devilduck]

Welcome!

[hector]

Thank you for all the helpful information. Hector has taken to swimming and enjoying her basking area. I have been able to increase the water level in her tank so at the moment she has about 10 inches of water to swim in. I've freed up more space for swimming by making an elevated basking area that has a enclosure around it to prevent her from pulling a Houdini and getting herself hurt. Thanks again for your input. I understand that she will do better with a larger tank and as I can work things into our budget (and make a place to put it) she will get all the room she needs. It is amazing to me how such a little creature can have such a big personality and such a big effect on me. My wife says " Hectors a pill!." Adios