General Care Discussion :: RES behavior

[BallisticTurtle]

MY young RES "George", approximately 3 years old, almost constantly swims from the bottom of the tank to the waterline, and back down. He simply swims from bottom to top and back down over and over all day long. He does bask for 1-2 hours daily most of the time and stops for air of course, but for about ~85% of the day all he does is swim from top to bottom repeatedly. Sometimes he swims down so fast he slams his head against the bottom of the tank and smushes it between the glass and his shell. I'm worried he might hurt himself. Is he just playing with his reflection or what?

[steve]

He generally sounds normal… any tank decorations for him to interact with?

[BallisticTurtle]

He has 2 fake plants that he sometimes tries to eat. I think you can see them in the photos I put in the picture section of the forum. Other than that, no. Bare bottom tank and about 50 gallons for him to swim in. There is a ping pong ball that he shows no interest in. He actually interacts more with his heater and the outflow pipe than the plants or ping pong ball. :/

[steve]

What's the basking temp? Maybe if it were a little warmer he would bask more.

[BallisticTurtle]

I actually think the basking temp was too high. I recently moved the lamp up and away from his basking area so that it's about 10" away and he won't stop basking now haha. I actually don't have a thermometer that I can use to measure the temperature at his basking area so I'm kinda having to guess. What's the best way to measure the ambient air temp above the platform? A glass thermometer would be heated by the lamp and not the air, and an IR/laser thermometer would only give the temp of the actual platform surface. What do?
I see it like this now: He either loves it, or it isn't hot enough and he has to stay there all day to get the job done. But he was on his platform all night and almost all day after I moved the lamp up and lowered the water temp from 77-78 to 76-77. Does this mean the water temp is too low and he has to stay on the dock to get any kind of warmth, or that he is really enjoying his basking area now?

[steve]

Good catch with the temperature. Some place a turtle sized rock on the platform and a thermometer above it to measure basking temps. A large basking area with a flood light lets the turtle move a round a bit to pick their preference. I routinely see my male RES thrusting his rear towards the closest point. The water temp is fine, seems like you found the right temp for him.

[BallisticTurtle]

When he basks, he stretches his legs out and it's adorable. He also stretches his head up towards the light, presumably to get more heat and expose all of his neck to the air. Very much like this:
I'm assuming this means everything is normal since this is apparently how turtles do it in the wild. Sound about right?

Another quick question about temperature: The lights on Georges tank are on a timer and they all turn off approximately the same time as when the sun goes down. At night his basking area reaches room temperature. I know in the wild the case would be the same and the temp would go down, but is that much of a change too much? His ambient above-water air temperature going from 80+ due to the lighting, down to 70 or below is a big drop. Any chance the cold "night" air could cause a respiratory infection or something? He sometimes sleeps on his basking area and has a metal mesh lid that allows the room air to flow through. So he's basically sitting in ~70 degree air all night while the lights are off. Just trying to think of everything .

[Jeremiah]

I think that temperature drop is okay, especially since RES like to sleep under the water. George should be doing this, as well.

[steve]

It's called the Superman pose

I think the temp drop is OK too, but most RES will sleep in the water. When you check on him in the morning, is he still there?

[BallisticTurtle]

He's still there sometimes. He isn't super consistent about where he sleeps. Sometimes he's on top of the basking area, sometimes he's kinda half-in-half-out of the water on the ramp, sometimes he sleeps in the other corner of the tank at water level, wedged between the outflow tube and the glass to support himself while he sleeps. Just kinda sleeps where he pleases it seems.

I'm fairly certain he's fine, but since he can't tell me I don't really know for sure.

[steve]

What's the basking platform made of? Does it hold heat well

[BallisticTurtle]

I currently have this one in the medium size: http://www.herpsupplies.com/product.cfm ... id=SZMTD10 I'd assume that since it's sitting in water, that not much of anything would hold heat that well. I think it's wood, foam, and paint though, not sure. Water below, cold air above. Not sure what COULD hold heat well in that situation.

I am replacing it with this one in the large size as the other one isn't large enough and barely supports Georges weight enough to keep it above water: http://www.herpsupplies.com/product.cfm ... d=SOA64224

[Jeremiah]

I've found that those docks don't float well, unless you strap another one beneath it. Also watch to see if chunks of it disappear. Some turtles like to eat them, although yours doesn't seem to have that issue.

[BallisticTurtle]

I've found that those docks don't float well, unless you strap another one beneath it. Also watch to see if chunks of it disappear. Some turtles like to eat them, although yours doesn't seem to have that issue.

It's fine, I'm replacing it as soon as the new one gets here. He's never shown any interest in eating it, thanks for the heads-up though. I'll likely just keep it as a backup in case something ever happens to the new one.