redearslider.com

Hi all,

I have a bit of a problem. About a month ago now, I bought a new Turtle Topper for my 55 gal. tank. I have two young sliders (YBS) and they're shy baskers. The reason I went with a topper is A) because they were getting too big to both comfortably bask on the floating dock without partially capsizing it and B) having a low water level makes the SUNSUN filter really loud.

It's that ubiquitous commercial Penn Plax Topper.

Now, they can both get up onto the dock, so physically it isn't a problem - but I don't see them bask -ever-. Pinkman, the smaller of the two doesn't even choose to go up there at all unless I coax him with treats. Mordin, the larger turtle, climbs up periodically because he knows I leave treats there sometimes, but he won't stay in there and bask.

It has now been weeks since I've seen them spend any time basking. I keep checking their shells for abnormalities, but I don't see any. I'm still worried though.

What do I do?

Have you tried covering the sides of the topper to give them extra privacy? Maybe increase the basking area temps, and focus it closer to the ramp.

This is the general problem with any ATBA... some RES just won't try it out.

I couldn't get Penelope to use an ATBA. Just picky I guess. She wants to swim up to her dock, verus climbing up to it.
Coaxing with treats seems good, except...once they get the treat, they have to hop right back in the water to eat it.
If you find that the floating dock is the only thing they like, you can always buy two and stack them. That's what I had to do when my gal started sinking, but refused to give up her precious floating doc.

When I moved to an ATBA, I ended up putting the floating dock on the platform of the ATBA.

That was when Tobi would finally start using it.

Ljapa, how do you mean?

I had tile in the bottom of an acrylic Atba. Tobi was having none of it.

She had been using a zoomed floating dock. I finally put the floating dock on top of the tile. She climbed right up.