General Care Discussion :: Turtle not basking

[klambin]

I am new to this website and forum.

We just adopted a juvenile red eared slider. I bought a 20 gallon tank and filled it up just so that she doesn't have to stand on her hind legs in order to breathe air. She wasn't basking, so I took a little water out thinking that may be the reason, but it doesn't seems like she's basking yet.

Granted, I am not home while I am at work from 8:30 - 5:30, so she might be basking then, but my question is that I have a floater rock in there, one we got from the pet store. Does anyone know of the best thing to use for a basking area. I've thought about buying more gravel and just making one of the ends of the tank at a higher level so she can be completely out of the water. I've also heard of just getting a rock out of the backyard, but I dont know what type. I don't even know if the floating rock is a good basking area.

Does anyone have ANY Suggestions for me.

Also, we've only had the tank since Sunday so for 4 days, and the water when I took a few inches out started getting cloudy. Is this normal, and if not, how can I fix it?

Also, my turtle doesn't really seem to like lettuce. I put it in the water, and she'll nibble on it, but she really likes the turtle food pellets. Is this a probleM?

[jenaero]

This is what a lot of people use

http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441806023&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302030048&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023694&bmUID=1156362310763&itemNo=4&In=Reptile&N=2030048&Ne=2

Fill the tank up as much as you can without giving the turt room to escape. They love to swim.

Check the water and basking temps. I assume you've read the basic care info? If the water is too warm or the basking temp is too cool, he won't bask. He could also be getting used to his new home. If the temps are right, just give him time and he'll bask.

A small tank with no filtration will get funky pretty fast. Invest in a good filter and it shouldnt be a problem.

Feeding amounts/times depend on the size of the turtle. How big is it?

[klambin]

What is a good way to cool down the water? We have a 100 Watt bulb on it between 10 and 12 hours per day, which is what the sales rep at petco suggested. She's about 1-2" in diameter, so she's still pretty small, her shell is about the size of my palm (And I'm a 5'6" 110 lb. girl so my hands are pretty small)

We have a pretty high powered fish filter. The sales rep also suggested this filter. It's not dirty cloudy, but cloudy.

[jenaero]

What are the water and basking temps? 100W for a 20gal sounds too strong.

IF the water is clean but cloudy, just give it some time to cycle.

Do you have a uvb bulb?

[klambin]

Yes, we have a UVB light. What what would you suggest? The water was just above 75 and the basking was about 80.

[jenaero]

water temp is fine. Bump the basking temp to 85-90.

[klambin]

Thank you for your help! I'll tell you how things turn out

[steve]

The floating rocks that come to my mind are pretty crappy. You might also want to look at something like this: http://www.reptilesupply.com/product.ph ... cts_id=943

Make sure you measure your tank so you can buy a dock that will fit.

[amazingcc]

Cork bark works really well also... my turts love basking on it.