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Hi I am very new to turtle care, in fact I just got my first turtle today. He has been in the tank about 10 or so hours and I have not seen him get out of the water to bask, the water temp. is about 78 or so. I am a little worried about him for when he has to go to sleep. I don't want him to drown. Is this normal for him in the beggining to not go on the floating basking area?

Any tips for a new turtle person how help.

Thanks

Hi! Welcome to the forum!

That is very normal for a turtle when they are first brought home. They are pretty shy and will take a while to adjust to their new surroundings. Sometimes it can take a few days to a week or two. How big is he? Also, do you have a heat light and a UVB light over the basking area? If you haven't already, you should read the info in the "RES Basic Care" link at the top of this page.

Yes I have all the lights for him. He is about 4 or so inches.

Yea, he should be fine. He won't drown since RES are aquatic turtles and spend the majority of their life under water. They even sleep under water, only rising up for air every 10 to 20 minutes.

Give him 2 or 3 days of peace and quiet with as little commotion or human activity as possible. Then gradually approach his tank a little at a time for brief periods and maybe not too close so he can get used to seeing you but still feel safe and secure. Also he may not eat right away so try a pellet or two each day and see if he responds to them. If he doesn't seem interested after 5 or 10 minutes, take the pellets out and try again the next day. If he seems really nervous, you could even wait 2 or 3 days before feeding again. Make sure to leave him alone during that time.

Eventually he will realize that he is safe in his new home and will become more comfortable. He will also probably bask while no one's around. When he does become interested in eating, try to stay with him while he eats each time you feed him so he begins to associate you with food. Soon enough you will become his best friend.

Alright thanks for the info. I have been wanting a turtle for about 6 years and now that i finally got a job, so I bought everything.

I agree with everything David said.

Congratulations on your new friend and welcome to the forum!

I think you're going to do a fine job taking care of your turtle. Having a job (and $$$) is very important when it comes to taking care of a RES!

Yeah I want to do the best that I can

Here's a list of what I think are necessary for basking. www.redearslider.com/basking.html

Good luck and welcome to the forum!