How can I get my RES to bask??

Question

I have tried putting her on the rocks...I have held her in my hand under the light to show her that light is good....but she won't bask on her own. I am so afraid she will get sick...what can I do to help her? (she's really skittish and small...about 2 inches in diameter)

Answer 1

Don't worry about it, especially if she is a new addition. Turtles won't bask until they feel secure in a new location. You can help by not handling her. If she is getting vitamin D in her diet, she could go her entire life without basking. Some turtles do. If you want to be sure, try feeding strips of liver, dusted with bone meal. Liver is high in vitamins D & A and the bone meal provides calcium

Answer 2

Sliders, cooter, painted, map, yellow bellied all are basically the same and require the same basic care. I have had my 2 slider  girls for 36 yrs. Plus an 8 and 5 yr old and now a 2 yr old adopted from this site.. Been in a pond for almost 7 yrs now.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29035692@N0...

These guys are the biggest chickens. In th last 6 yrs one of my 36 yr old girls will allow me to pick her up and she does swim to me to get out of the pond.

But 95% of the time they think you are a predator like in the wild. Coyotes,raccoons,possums,foxes,owls etc so they run for their lives to the botton of whatever they are in a pond,lake.river, or stream. Thats also why the sleep down at the bottom also.

The bigger the environment the bigger the healthier the turtle.

Did you know that they need to bask under a reptile light UVA for 8 to 10 hrs a day for the vitamin D that they need to grow. So that means getting a turtle dock also.

Leave the heater on 75 to 78 degrees always.

Their water needs to be clean otherwise they get sick easily from dirty water cause they p**p allot.

You need a good filter system! Gravel larger than they can swallow.

You need to feed them feeder guppies, goldfish or minnows for protein and calcium daily drop 20 or so in the tanks and watch them disappear! This way when they swim for their dinner they get exercise also!

TOSS in a bird cuttle bone in the water for calcium. it will dissolve real slow and if they eat it that’s fine!!

They can have garden worm, meal worms, crickets, flies anything that moves!

They need leafy greens Romaine, Butter lettuce. (Iceberg and cabbage are bad for them, any other leafy greens will do) for vitamin A that they need at least 3 to 4 times a week.

You probably already know that they get sick easily, shell rot, respiratory sickness, lopsided swimming, coughing, blowing bubbles, Swollen cloudy eyes means lacking in Vitamin A. Which we all need for good eyes. Google ‘vegetables with Vitamin A.

I wish you luck.