General Care Discussion :: my RES won't sun himself

[bitenot]

Hi. My young RES seems to be healthy, eats like a pig. He used to sun himself all the time. Since his companion RES died, he no longer wants to sun himself. I sometimes take him out of the tank and put him in a glass bowl so he can get sun, but he really doesn't like it.

Help!

Deirdre
San Francisco

[devilduck]

Sorry to hear about your loss. How long has the other turtle been gone? Your RES maybe adjusting to the change in the environment since the other turtle is no longer around. RES do not like change and may take a few weeks to get back into a normal routine.

[bitenot]

The other turtle died about 2-3 months ago. Shouldn't my RES have adjusted by now?

Deirdre

[burtont48]

he should of adjusted by now, but turtles are weird, they do whatever they want. good job on taking him out. he needs to completely dry out a few times a week to keep his shell from going soft and rotting. Whats your water and basking temperature? Just to get him basking again I would temporarily turn the water heater down a few deg and make sure the basking area is 90-95 deg. I normally keep my water at 77, but turned down around 73-75 will be fine. a cheap infrared thermometer is the best way to take water and basking area temperatures. Also, he could be basking while your not home. leave something on the basking dock that will get moved around easially if he goes up there. or the more expensive option is to buy an internet camera that records the last 24-48 hours. dlink makes a few wireless cameras you can view live and recorded video right on your phone for free once you purchase the camera.

[steve]

Any chance you can post a picture of your tank setup?