General Care Discussion :: Excessive Basking

[Misskey24]

Hello all I have a baby RES and have been caring for him about a year now. He is in a 10 gallon tank for now with a basking dock, UVA/heat lamp and a reptofilter 90gph. I know my setup is not the greatest and is lacking a larger tank, heater, thermometer and UVB but this is the best I can afford for now. My turtle is very active and eats VERY well. I feed him reptomin and dark green lettuce daily and dried shrimps twice a week. My concerns are latelu he has been basking for long periods of time. 1-2 hours at a time 4-5 times a day. He will bask until his shell is very dry looking. He has also started snapping at the water and making bubbles. Actually he makes the bubble above water and then snaps at it. I can't upload my pic bcuz its saying they are too large. Is there something wrong with him? Is he getting sick?

[n00bEmpty]

Well I would think that is normal because RES do aggressively bask. And I think the bubble thing is maybe because he's bored?

[penelope]

Basking all day is good. A dry shell is a great deterrent for shell rot, and the more they bask the more UVB they get.
I wouldn't worry about it. Try for 12 hours of light a day - a timer works great. If you can't afford one, then just try to establish some kind of schedule.
It's normal for them to stick their heads in the water to take a drink.
The bubble concept is a new one - but, they have their own odd ways of amusing themselves I guess.
If you don't see the stream of bubble when swimming around, then its probably not an issue. Especially since he is eating and acting healthy.

[steve]

If you need help posting pics, you can email them to me and I'll upload for you. As for the basking... it sounds good, though in most cases a turtle will bask once or twice a day for several hours at a time. Sometimes it depends on their personality, sometimes on the activity in their room. I would pick up a couple of good thermometers to keep a close tab in the temperatures.

[Ant]

Turtles will bask just for the heat.

Since you do not have a water heater, I will assume that the water is much cooler than the ambient temperature of the basking area.

[Misskey24]

Thanks so much everyone! I really like the idea that the bubbles and snapping at the water and air are his way of not being bored! I will be getting thermometers and a heater this week. Steve I will send you my pics for help with posting....thanks a bunch.