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How big is your turtle? 8.5"
How long have you had it? 9 months

What is the water temperature? 79 F.
Did you use a thermometer? Yes. not digital, just sits in water...
Are you using a water heater? Yes, two of them
How much water is in there? 72 gallon approx. [75 gallon tank]
Are you using a water conditioner? Yes
Are you using any filtration? Yes, Fluval 405 and a small Aquaclear powerhead filter with the water polisher added.

What is the basking temperature? not sure
Is there a basking light? Yes, regular household bulb, 100 Watt. 11 inches above basking area.
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? Yes
What kind is it or what is it made out of? above tank basking area made entirely of egg crate with egg crate ramp
Is there a UVB light? Yes. Zoo Med 10.0 Repti Glo UVB. approx 3 months old.

What have you been trying to feed it? pellets and romaine lettuce mostly, sometimes feeder fish.
When was the last time your turtle ate? two days ago ate lettuce
How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 75 gallon
Is the tank near a window? no
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? unfortunately yes. nowhere else to put it.

Have you read the Basic Care section? Yes
Have you searched the forums for similar situations? Yes.


Did an Ammonia test today. came back 0.25ppm. Did a ph test, came back as 7.0 ph.

I cleaned his tank recently, emptying 75% of the water and adding new water. I used a water conditioner...

he seems less energetic than usual it is worrying me! for about two weeks now I've noticed it. more often than usual I'll find him resting on the bottom of the tank with his eyes closed like he's sleeping...during the day. his lights are on a timer to go off at 10:40pm and come on at 9:20am so he should be getting enough sleep...

I am worried about him. he IS basking but not as much as he should be. why does he just lie on the bottom like this sometimes?? is he sick?? help please.

Everything seems spot on to me.
If his behavior is concerns you, maybe a trip to the vet would be in order.
Only thing wrong that i can think of is that maybe your water is too warm at 79 and he isn't finding the need to bask, but i keep my tanks around that range and all my turtles do great.

What is the basking temperature? not sure
Is there a basking light? Yes, regular household bulb, 100 Watt. 11 inches above basking area.
Is there a UVB light? Yes. Zoo Med 10.0 Repti Glo UVB. approx 3 months old.
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? unfortunately yes. nowhere else to put it.



he seems less energetic than usual it is worrying me! for about two weeks now I've noticed it. more often than usual I'll find him resting on the bottom of the tank with his eyes closed like he's sleeping...during the day. his lights are on a timer to go off at 10:40pm and come on at 9:20am so he should be getting enough sleep...quote]

The four things I left from your post are the things that stand out to me.

You need to know your basking spot temp. Its just as important as knowing your water temp.

The basking bulb needs to have heat, not just a light bulb you put in a lamp.

The UVB bulb IMO is to strong. RES dont need 10.0 bulbs, those are intended for desert species. How old is the UVB bulb? Is it a tube or a CF? how close is it to the basking area?
And lastly the activity of the room. I know you cant help it but this might have something to do with it. Until he becomes really comfortable with you and the activity, he wont come out much. In my experience a RES eyes are a early indicator of illness. Are the eyes swollen or cloudy when they are open?

You need to know your basking spot temp. Its just as important as knowing your water temp.

The basking bulb needs to have heat, not just a light bulb you put in a lamp.

The UVB bulb IMO is to strong. RES dont need 10.0 bulbs, those are intended for desert species. How old is the UVB bulb? Is it a tube or a CF? how close is it to the basking area?
And lastly the activity of the room. I know you cant help it but this might have something to do with it. Until he becomes really comfortable with you and the activity, he wont come out much. In my experience a RES eyes are a early indicator of illness. Are the eyes swollen or cloudy when they are open?

thanks for the reply. I have two thermometers in the basking area [a digital one but he chewed the cord for that one so I am not sure it is accurate stil so I bought another stick-on analog one] but I am not sure it is acurate because the sides o the basking house are made entirely of egg crate which has holes in it...obviously. lol. so obviously alot of the heat is escaping? I don't know how to prevent this but the sides, bottom, and top let the heat escape so I think it will give an inaccurate reading so I don't pay attention to the thermometers. ?

okay I will buy a new heat bulb, thanks.

what UVB bulb would you suggest? right now it is not over the basking area because I thought since he wasn't basking enough, maybe he wasnt etting sufficient UVB light so I put it right over the tank itself. it is a curly spiral one, not a round one...

his eyes look fine when they are open but he sits on the bottom ALL the time with his eyes closed. he is doing it now

harleysmom wrote:

You need to know your basking spot temp. Its just as important as knowing your water temp.

The basking bulb needs to have heat, not just a light bulb you put in a lamp.

The UVB bulb IMO is to strong. RES dont need 10.0 bulbs, those are intended for desert species. How old is the UVB bulb? Is it a tube or a CF? how close is it to the basking area?
And lastly the activity of the room. I know you cant help it but this might have something to do with it. Until he becomes really comfortable with you and the activity, he wont come out much. In my experience a RES eyes are a early indicator of illness. Are the eyes swollen or cloudy when they are open?

thanks for the reply. I have two thermometers in the basking area [a digital one but he chewed the cord for that one so I am not sure it is accurate stil so I bought another stick-on analog one] but I am not sure it is acurate because the sides o the basking house are made entirely of egg crate which has holes in it...obviously. lol. so obviously alot of the heat is escaping? I don't know how to prevent this but the sides, bottom, and top let the heat escape so I think it will give an inaccurate reading so I don't pay attention to the thermometers. ?

okay I will buy a new heat bulb, thanks.

what UVB bulb would you suggest? right now it is not over the basking area because I thought since he wasn't basking enough, maybe he wasnt etting sufficient UVB light so I put it right over the tank itself. it is a curly spiral one, not a round one...

his eyes look fine when they are open but he sits on the bottom ALL the time with his eyes closed. he is doing it now

I have a 100 gallon indoor pond for my 2 large female RES, And I have 100 watt heat bulb and a 5.0 UVB bulb. the curly one you talk about is a compact flourecent or a CFL. May I ask, how long have you had the CFL bulb? Also is he still eating? And my last question is do you have a reptile vet close to were you live?

He eats, yes. The bulb is about 3 months old...

The reptile vet works only part time, only on Wednesdays from 1-4. which I am usually working...but I'm going to try buying different bulbs [a 5.0 uvb] and a 100 watt heat bulb, not aregular household bulb, and try to lower his temp from 79 to 75ish and see if those things help in a week or so and if not, will have to take him to the vet.

thanks.

Does he beg for food? Does he react to you differently? How does he act out of water?

I haven't taken him out of water except when cleaning his tank yet because we have a cat. waiting for the weather to warm up to bring him outside to play in the fenced yard...

I am not sure. he has never really begged for food since I got him...not that I noticed. but he's a piggy! he eats too much, I am cutting back his food intake because he has pudge around his backlegs and he breathes heavily as if he is overexerting himself when he climbs out of water or whatever.

I went to the store earlier and bought a Repti Glo 5.0 UVB to replace the 10.0. I didn't realize the 10 was for desert animals! thanks.

also bought a 100 watt UVA/daylight basking bulb, Repti Sun to replace the 100 watt household bulb I had in there.

I found a way to check the basking area temperature, and it is appprox 90 F, which I think is good. I managed to get his water down from 79 to 77 F.

He has not been seen "sleeping" on the bottom of the tank as much today but he still is not basking much anymore not sure why....

How's Harley doing with the changes?