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I've had my RES for a little over a week now. He hasn't eatin anything that I've given him. He has a basking light, filter, sunmersible heater kept at 80 to 82 degrees. I also have a floating turtle dock but I have yet to see him bask on it. He is in a 20 gallon long tank and is filled a little bit more than half full. Does anyone have any ideas why he isn't eating? I know that it takes awhile for them to get used to their new suroundings but the person at the petstore told me it would take him less than a week. Please if you have any ideas please tell me!
Thank You

Assuming he is a baby, its perfectly normal for them not to eat right away in new surroundings. Don't panic. When I first got all my RES, they were all petrified, and would not eat. Here's a good method to get them started:
Go to the petstore and get a vegetable clip and some anacharis (not sure if I'm spelling that right). One, maybe two bunches. Clip the end of the anacharis and attach it to the tank so that the entire length of the plant will float on the surface. Maybe set the clip so the plant will curve around a corner of the tank. Then place the pellets on top of or inside of the plant. Then step back out of sight and watch. All my turts swam under the plant, found the pellets, and started eating. I think being under the anacharis made them feel secure enough that they could eat without being "seen". It might not work right away, especially if you stand and stare, but it's never failed me. Good luck.

Thank you so much I will try that as soon as I can. Also I have gravel that is really bright colors and my mom thinks that he might be afraid of it so do you think I should take the gravel out? He still has not basked yet and I was wondering if he didn't really know it was there so I put him on there and he seemed really frightened and jumped back into the water. What could be the problem?

The gravel should be removed regardless of color. Your turtle can and will eat it and it can cause your turtle to become impacted.

My turtles won't bask when I am in the room. Some people have even had to set up a video camera to catch their turtles basking. Give him some space and time, and he will bask. This is all assuming that your basking temps are correct. Should be a bout 10 degrees warmer than the water.

Hello and welcome Lilacpincess. To answer your questions - Yes, you should remove the gravel from the tank. It isn't because the turtle is afraid of it but because he may try to eat it. This would cause extreme problems that is best to avoid. A bare tank is fine.

It's normal for the turtle to be frightened of you. Just think of how HUGE you look to him. It can take days or even months for turtles to feel comfortable enough to go "about their daily business", especially when they have been changed from their environment. Try to avoid handling your turtle unless it is necesssary. This might help him feel secure around you and not fear that everytime you get near him it means you will be grabbing at him.

Trust me, your little guy knows where the basking ramp is. He just has to get used to his surroundings and you. Right now, he sees you as the "Big Head" hovering around his tank doing god knows what. He dosent recognize you as his sole source of food. Once he does, the begging will begin, and once he feels safe enough, he will start basking. Clip a fresh piece of romaine to his tank every morning (you may notice little bites being taken) offer pellets using the above method, keep things quiet around the tank (don't hover!) and he'll come around....

grey goose wrote:Right now, he sees you as the "Big Head" hovering around his tank doing god knows what.

Everytime you've said that, it's made me think of waking up one morning to find a huge turtle head staring at me from the window.
SCAAAAAAARRRRRYYYYY!!!

I know if I saw a big turt head hovering outside my window, I wouldnt bask or eat!!!!

LOL, how will I get that image out my head???

Ok so lastnight I took all the gravel out and cleaned the whole tank. I bought a different kind of food because the old stuff wasn't pellets they were more round. I think he is eating it but still hasn't tried any vegetables or fruits. I only give him pellets every other day. I now have the temperature at 78 and now that I took the gravel out he has more water to swim in which he is very excited about! But he still is not basking I now leave the door open just so I can stick my head in to see if he is. I also put cuttle bone in there wich he will nibble on every so often. But what can I do about him not basking and I've had him for 2 weeks. Thank You for all the post but if you have anything on him not basking can you PLEASE tell me! THANK YOU

Do you know what the temperature is on his basking platform? The basking area's temperature needs to be at least 10 degrees than the water or the turtle won't be motivated to get up and bask.

To check the temp, you can put a rock or something turtle-sized on the platform and then put the thermometer on top of that, give it 15 or 20 minutes then check it.

I'm not sure of the basking temp. but do you think I should put him in a seprate tank with some shade with the basking lamp on there? I think I might have caught him basking but im still worried! Now he eats pelletes every other day but still no veggies! He will eat the pellets in front of me now! I am excited about that but do u have anything on the basking? If I put my hand on his dock it is warm to the touch but thats all i know! THANK YOU

You really should get a thermometer for your basking area so you can control and adjust the temperature. The only way you'll know if he's basking is if you "sneak" in, my turtles would jump in the water the minute they saw us watching.

Are you guys really sure turtles can see you like how you see? I thought reptles dont have focused eyesights, like frogs, they can only see a moving thing, a shape, but if you hold still they cant see you

They are somewhat nearsighted, but have keen eyesight for distance. And they can see you even when you stand still in front of them (this sounds like something in a movie I once saw ). They also can distinguish colors.