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After realising a few mistakes in my tank I have bought a new basking rock and added more water to the aquarium. My turtle was given to us after his owner had kept him in only 3 or 4cm of water. I have gradually built up the water as adding more suddenly seemed to frighten him. Now I have a Good few inches and a new basking rock but he is only sitting in a familiar corner and I can hear him breathing which I've not heard before (not sure if it's just because the filters off for once) any help would be great

are you using a heater? Do you have basking lights? Does the breathing sound more like a wheezing?

Yeah heater and Yeah we have a heating light. It does a little but it's not a heavy wheezing more of a soft panting. Hope this makes sense

How big/old is your turtle? Does he have a basking area and areas underwater that he can rest on? Could he use his feet to "stand" up in the water and have his head above the surface?

About 7 and a half inches, unsure of her age as we got her from a man who said she was a little terrapin, he said it was three though. Yeah we have it's old rocks which it can use to stand on and bask, the Eco terra turtle bank large (the new piece we have just added) and more water for him to swim. he is still able to put his head out. My worry is that because he isn't used to having a few inches of water he panicks when we add a little more, the extra water and the new bank has frightened him, this is more likely to be me being clueless and jumping to conclusions but I am worried I am doing something wrong.

Can you post a picture of the setup? It's normal for them to be a little skittish in a new home.

We just changed our turtle tank (Got a much Bigger one) With more lighting - more water . And more basking areas. Boy- they didnt like it at first. Wouldn't go above land for a good day or so.. But as the days went on- so did they. They got real used to their new house... I say just give them some time.

What's your water temperature?

My Martha, a 2 year old Yellow Bellied Slider does not like when I change her water or when I change her pond around at all. Just recently I changed out about 10 to 15 gallons of water and then added back about 25 gallons. As a result, I had to raise her basking stone. She was not happy and was definitely skiddish about basking. After a few days, she was back to her old self. As long as I don't mess with her underwater hinding spot, she seems to get through the changes okay.

If it were me, I would give your turtle a few days and see what happens, but first I would add at least another foot of water. Your turtle needs a lot more water than a "Good few inches". Turtles like to dive, especially when they feel frightened. If you had a hatchling, a few inches of water would be okay for a little while, but as they grow they need deeper and deeper water. If your turtle were to end up on it's back, it would have a really hard time righting itself with only a few inches of water; it could drowned.

-Michael