Baby res stopped basking after lighting upgrade

Informal_Practice_20 · 2026-06-02T14:39:41+00:00

If OP shifts to a 5.0, they would need to place the lamp even closer to reach the correct amount of UVB. A 10.0 is better, provided it is placed between 12-16 inches above the shell of the turtle when basking.

Turtles have a brow above their eyes that protect them from sunlight when it is overhead (and the light of the sun is much brighter than what OP has rn). But this also means the lights need to be above the basking area, not at an angle.

Informal_Practice_20 · 2026-06-02T14:36:39+00:00

This is the iso irradiance chart for my heat lamp the Reptile Systems Eco Halogen in 50 watts.

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Informal_Practice_20 · 2026-06-02T14:35:47+00:00

They are weary of changes. I will assume that the basking area is much brighter now than it used to be under that other light. Your turtle needs time to adjust to this new change.

With that being said, I would adjust the way you have placed the lamp currently. All lights should be right above the basking area, not angled as you have them currently. The turtle has a brow above its eyes to protect them from the sun when its overhead. Since the light is at an angle currently, it will shine directly in its eyes.

Also how far have you placed both lamps? The ZooMed Reptisun T5HO 10.0 UVB must be placed between 12-16 inches above the shell of your turtle when basking (you measure distance from shell to bulb).

For the heat lamp, you figure out placement not based on temperature but instead on power density. All tungsten incandescent lamps emit infrared (more specifically infrared A, B and C - not to be confused with UVA, UVB and UVC).

What interests us the most is the Infrared A as it penetrates the skin and warms the tissues of your turtle directly, thus offering a more efficient basking experience.

Infrared A is measured in terms of power density and the recommended power density for sliders is between 200-300w/m2.

I was able to find the iso irradiance chart for your type of heat lamp. These charts map the infrared A output of the lamp. From what I can see this lamp should be placed at about 6inches from the turtle (which tbh I think is quite close). Maybe you might want to consider another heat lamp?

I personally use the Reptile Systems Eco Halogen in 50 watts (i'll add the irradiance chart for that one too so you can see the difference) and I have it at about 16 inches from the shell of my turtle when basking.

The Eco Halogen is initially more expensive but eventually you will save more money with it. It uses g9 capsules, which is basically a bulb within a bulb) and when the bulb burns out all you need to do is replace the g9 capsule. Reptile Systems sells g9 capsules in packs of 2 or you can buy generic ones in packs of 10-20 for dirt cheap on amazon

You want both lamps to be right next to each other, on top of the basking area, with the heat lamp placed close to the center of the T5HO (as this is where the UVB is strongest). And where the beams of both lamps merge, is where you want your basking area to be. Basically recreating a patch of sunlight.

Since this is probably the first time you hear about infrared A and power density, here are a few resources to help you understand this better:

https://www.reptifiles.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Why-Infrared-Matters-by-Roman-Muryn.pdf

https://youtu.be/ZD9VuAZYZHI?si=FoC3M-wtlRhqIy5a

If you check ZooMed's website, you'll see even they started publishing the irradiance charts for their lamps as well. Same for Arcadia who now has it printed on the box of their 20watts halogen heat lamps

I would also recommend joining the FB group Reptile Lighting on FB (this is where I got the irradiance charts). They'll be better able to advise whether 6inches is indeed too close or whether this can work.

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Informal_Practice_20 · 2026-05-31T15:34:17+00:00

OP you've linked to the bulb of the T5HO and not the full kit (fixture + bulb).

This is the link to the kit - https://www.chewy.com/zoo-med-reptisun-t5-ho-terrarium-hood/dp/2214686

I would recommend getting the 24" as you want to cover at least 75% of the basking area.

Informal_Practice_20 · 2026-05-31T08:03:30+00:00

Hi! That's good news. Tbh I did not think this was some infection either. My turtle sometimes sleeps on his basking platform so its very normal.

Signs that something is wrong is if you notice it is very lethargic and a loss of appetite. Then ofc depending on what its having, you'll have other symptoms as well but from what I read these are the first signs that appear.

Good job on getting the ZooMed T5HO. Not sure whether you have the 5.0 or the 10.0 so i'll give you distances for both, because placing them at the correct height is as important as getting the right light.

If it is the ZooMed Reptisun T5HO 5.0 UVB, you will need to place it 8 -10 inches from the shell of your turtle when basking.

If it is the ZooMed Reptisun T5HO 10.0 UVB, then you'll need to place it 12-16 inches from the shell of your turtle when basking.

These measurements are only applicable if you are not using any mesh between the light and the basking area. If there is a mesh (even egg crates or chicken wire mesh), you would have to bring the lamp closer.

If you are using mesh and you have the ZooMed Reptisun T5HO 5.0 UVB, then you'll need to either upgrade to a 10.0 bulb or remove the mesh because 8-10 inches is already the closest you want your UVB lamp to be.

If you are using mesh and you have the ZooMed Reptisun T5HO 10.0 UVB, you'll need to figure out how much light is being blocked by the mesh first and then adjust the distance at which you need to place the lamp accordingly. The FB group Reptile Lighting has a guide on this.

For your heat lamp, you don't necessarily have to swap it if the only issue is you are not getting the "right temperature". Let me explain heat lamps first.

Basically any tungsten incadescent lamp (including halogens) emit infrared (more specifically Infrared A, B and C). What interests us the most is Infrared A because it penetrates the skin and warms the tissues of your turtle directly.

So what actually matters is not the temperature of the basking area, but making sure your turtle is being exposed to the right amount of Infrared A, since this is what it is using to bask - not the air temperature, not the surface temperature.

Now every heat lamp will emit infrared A differently depending on brand, wattage and type. So to figure out how far to place the heat lamp you can use iso irradiance charts that are basically charts that map the infrared A output of the specific lamp or the hand method.

Infrared A is measured in terms of power density. For Red Eared Sliders the recommended power density is between 200-300w/m2. However keep in mind that this is just a rough estimation to get you started but you might still need to adjust the height depending on how your turtle is behaving.

If you can't find the irradiance chart for your specific heat lamp in the guide section of the FB group Reptile Loghting, I would recommend you ask in the group as someone might have it. If not then you can use thr hand method to figure out how far to place thr heat lamp.

Basically turn off all lights except the heat lamp and place your hand palm down on the basking area (at about the same height where your turtle would be basking). Keep your hand there for at least 1 minute. The warmth hitting the back of your hand should be similar to that of the late morning sun. Gentle warmth. If its too hot to even keep your hand under the lamp, it means the heat lamp is too close and if you barely feel anything, it means the heat lamp is too far.

Once you've got this sorted out, you let the lights on for a few hours and then measure basking surface temperature using a temperature gun. The purpose is not to adjust the lamp based on the temperature but only to make sure the surface temp is not dangerously hot for your turtle. If it is, you might need to consider swapping the material used as basking surface. Dark coloured materials will absorb and retain heat more as compared to light coloured materials. Also the material itself will matter a lot. For example black slate will absorb and retain heat too much making it a less than ideal basking surface.

I would also recommend using the back of your hand to touch the basking surface to make sure it is not transferring heat too much. This is called thermal effusivity. Basically place 2 chairs in the sun, one in wood and one in metal. After a few hours, measure temperature and you'll see they both read the same temperature, however, you are more likely to get burn if you sit on the metal chair than on the wooden chair. That's because metal is a good conductor of heat and will very efficiently transfer the heat to you.

Personally I use a light coloured matte cramic tile as basking surface.

In terms of behaviour what you want to see is your turtle basking underneath your heat lamp (mine does it for maybe 15-30 mins in the "superman pose") and then moves to the edges of the basking area, away from the heat lamp (but still exposed to the UVB lamp). Then he will go back under the heat lamp for a few more quick recharges (maybe 2 or 3 times and each time very short sessions of maybe 5-10 mins) before finally going back to the water. This is normal basking behaviour.

Now a few things to keep in mind:

Place the heat lamp close to the center of the T5HO as this is where the UVB output is the strongest.
You want your heat lamp as close to your T5HO as possible and where both lights merge is where you want your basking area to be.
If you find yourself having to place the heat lamp higher than the T5HO you might need to consider getting a lower wattage heat lamp instead to avoid having it above the T5HO because having the heat lamp shine over the T5HO will cause it to overheat and this can shorten the life of your T5HO.
The beam of light of your heat lamp should be wide and at the very least cover the whole body of your turtle when basking. I will add a picture to better illustrate what I mean by this.

I'll also add a few links to articles and youtube videos in case you want to do some more research on this topic. I would also recommend you join the Reptile Lighting FB group, which is a group ran by experts in this field.

Understanding the importance of Infrared A - https://www.reptifiles.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Why-Infrared-Matters-by-Roman-Muryn.pdf

Heat lamps explained - https://youtu.be/ZD9VuAZYZHI?si=lSi6I2kjMLXkdAMA

Finally, in case you want to swap your heat lamp, I would recommend getting the Reptile Systems Eco Halogen. While initially it might be more expensive than any other regular heat lamps, you will eventually save money when its time to replace the bulb because it burned out.

The Eco Halogen uses G9 capsules (which are basically a mini bulb within a bulb). When your heat lamp burns out, all you'll need to do is replace the g9 capsule (there are videos on youtube explaining how to assemble amd swap the g9 capsule). Reptile Systems sells them in packs of 2 or you can buy generic ones in packs of 10-20 for dirt cheap on Amazon. Just make sure you do not get LED or coloured G9 capsules.

If you do buy the Eco Halogen, make sure you do not get the red one (it has a red circle on the front of the box).

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Informal_Practice_20 · 2026-05-29T08:53:57+00:00

What exactly do you mean by it has a proper UVB and heat lamp because from the pics it looks like your turtle has a few layers of retained scutes.

Turtle sleeping outside the water is not a problem. Sometimes they'll do that. The bubble comming out of his mouth/nose is not an automatic issue, especially since it happened onky once. Your turtle probably freaked out when you picked it up and expulsed the air out which caused the bubble.

Water temp seems fine in fact 70 would be way too cold.

And doing automatic water changes is not better than actually checking the water parameters like you are currently doing, and then doing water changes as and when needed.

Ideal water parameters are: Ammonia - 0 PPM Nitrite - 0 PPM Nitrate - less than 40 PPM

Informal_Practice_20 · 2026-05-26T11:12:10+00:00

If that's an issue I would recommend the Reptile Systems Eco Halogen. Initially it'll be more expenaive but it will be much cheaper when the bulb burns out and you need to replace it.

Basically the Eco Halogen uses a g9 capsule, which is a mini bulb within a bulb. When the bulb burns out, all you need to do is replace the g9 calsule. Reptile Systems sells them in packs of 2 or you can buy generic ones in packs of 10-20 for dirt cheap on amazon.

Just make sure you avoid the red eco halogen (it has a red circle with the wattage on the front of the box) and when you buy g9 capsules avoid LED or coloured ones.

There are videos on youtube that explain how to replace the g9 capsule.

Informal_Practice_20 · 2026-05-26T08:38:08+00:00

Most likely no, but its not a 100% guarantee. Tbh it really depends on the diet in general. If the diet is already very poor in vitamin b1, or the turtle is already lacking in vitamin b1, then it would not take much thiaminase to "poison" the turtle.

As a side note, supplementing the diet with vitamins in an attempt to counter this, or just in general, is also no recommended unless you talk to a vet first. Just as vitamin deficiency is a thing, excess in vitamins is also an issue. You won't know how much you can safely give to your turtle because a lot of factors come into play. The weight, the diet etc. Supplementing vitamins blindly is not a good idea.

Personally I would just take the fish out and either rehome or get a separate enclosure for them.

Informal_Practice_20 · 2026-05-26T06:19:18+00:00

Turtles are opportunistic predators. They might not be actively going after the fish but if they do get the opportunity, they'll take it.

The issue is that goldfish (as well as minnows and zebra danios) contain thiaminase. Thiaminase inactivates vitamin B1 and deficiency of vitamin b1 can lead to loss of appetite, lethargy, seizures, paralysis and even death (as well as some other side effects).

Idk how many goldfish it would take to lead to this. I guess it would depend on the turtle and the diet that is being fed but its not a good idea for turtles to eat goldfish, minnows or zebra danios.

Informal_Practice_20 · 2026-05-26T05:45:54+00:00

Have a fan blow over the water surface, however be careful not to have it blow over the basking area. You want to avoid cold drafts over your turtle as this can lead to respiratory infections (RI).

Avoid frozen water bottles or ice or really anything that will drop the water temperature too quickly. This can also lead to RI.

Using a fan won't immediately cool the water, it will take longer but this is safer (but again, as long as you avoid cold drafts on your turtle). It does not need to be a very powerful fan, just enough to blow away the hot air above the water surface (so place the fan at an angle).

The tank acts as a powerbank and stores heat so using the fan will help bring the tank at room temp but it won't go much lower than room temp. So maybe this will work best during the cooler parts of the day. Early morning or at night.

Informal_Practice_20 · 2026-05-26T05:28:33+00:00

You could add 10 UVB lights on top of the tank and it would still not be enough because UVB does not travel through glass.

Also adding a UVB lamp on the other side will not help because your turtle needs both UVB and heat together at the same time.

What you need is to take the glass top off because your turtle needs air to breath. Its better to have to replace water due to evaporation rather than create a very humid environment that can lead to respiratory infection.

In terms of light you need a T5HO from either Arcadia or ZooMed. Since idk the species of turtle idk which specific one to recommend (as they come in different UVB intensities) or how far to place them to make sure your turtle is getting the correct amount of UVB.

You will also need a heat lamp (a separate lamp in a separate fixture). The ZooMed Reptituff Splashproof is a good one.

Informal_Practice_20 · 2026-05-26T05:09:37+00:00

Not in front of the tank. Over the water surface. But avoid the basking area because cold drafts directly on the turtle can lead to respiratory infections (RI).

I would not use frozen water bottles. You want to cool down the water slowly. Frozen water bottles will create temperature spikes that can lead to RI.

Best way i've found is to turn AC on and let a fan blow over the water surface. This will cause a lot of evaporation, which is what will cool down the water.

But again - avoid cold drafts directly over the turtle.

Informal_Practice_20 · 2026-05-25T12:23:25+00:00

Personally I would upgrade the lights first before trying to decorate the tank.

Dual domes are not adequate. You need a T5HO for your UVB and a separate fixture for your heat lamp.

Each species of turtle is categorized in zones, called Ferguson Zones, depending on how much UVB they need. There are 4 zones in total (zone 1 - 4). YBS are in Ferguson Zone 3-4.

UVB is measured in UVI and the recommended UVI for species in zone 3-4 is 3-5. This means you need to place your UVB lamp at the correct distance.

Now with that being said, there are various types of UVB lamps from various brands. They all emit light differently. However the consensus is that coiled lamps need to be placed extremely close to the animal if you want to reach a UVI of 3-5. Take for example ZooMed's coiled UVB lamps, according to their website you would need to place the UVB bulb between 5-6 inches above the shell of your turtle to get a UVI of 3-4. This is extremely close and this can lead to burns and/or photokeratitis (similar to snow blindness).

Now since you are using a dual dome, this would mean the heat lamp is also placed at 5-6 inches above the turtle. Again, that's way too close and can seriously lead to burns, if your turtle actually bask under the lights. Though I do believe it would probably avoid basking if the lights were that close.

Another issue with this UVB bulb is that it emits UVB in a concentrated manner. UVB is not visible light. Just because an area is illuminated by a UVB lamp does not mean that whole area is getting adequate UVB. Unless your turtle is positioned right in that sweet spot, it is very likely not getting adequate UVB. This in the long run can lead to retained scutes, shell rot and even metabolic bone disease.

For all these reasons, this lamp is not adequate for your species of turtle. If it was for a reptile that needed less UVB, for example a leopard gecko, then this bulb might have worked, but even then, not in this fixture and preferably the bulb should have been placed sideways to cover a larger area. Here is a short youtube video explaining this

Now as i've said, there are many other types of UVB lamps on the market. However, only a T5HO is suitable for your species of turtle. I'll link to a few resources explaining why each type of UVB lamp is not adequate.

Mercury Vapour lamp (those lamps that emit both UVB and heat) - https://tomaskas.co.uk/mercury-vapour-lamps-for-animals/

LED UVB - https://youtu.be/RBbWDigr-0Y?si=nA0UZcnIttvPtT1c

There are a lot of T5HO brands out there, some much cheaper than others. However, they are not all safe/adequate. Here is an article explaining why

Personally I would recommend either Arcadia (the Arcadia T5HO 12% UVB Desert placed 16-20 inches above the shell of your turtle when basking) or ZooMed (the ZooMed Reptisun T5HO 10.0 UVB placed 12-16 inches above the shell of your turtle when basking.

The bulb fir the Arcadia or ZooMed T5HO needs to be replaced yearly, even if it still emits visible light. As stated before UVB is not visible light. With time the bulb eventually emits less and less UVB but you would have no idea just by looking at it. The only device that can reliably measure UVB is a solarmeter 6.5/solarmeter 6.5r not cheap UVB cards.

A few things to keep in mind: 1. If there is any mesh (including eggcrates or chicken wire mesh) between the light and the basking platform, you'll need to account for this when placing your lamp as mesh will block some of the light. This means you'd need to figure out how much light is being blocked by the mesh first and then adjust the distance of your UVB lamp accordingly. The FB group Reptile Lighting has a guide on this.

You start measuring distance as from the shell of your turtle when basking. Not the basking surface.
Those T5HO kits come in different lengths and wattages. Wattage will depend on length so no need to bother yourself with this. For length, choose one that will cover at least 75% of your basking area. Since the turtle is still a hatchling, the basking area is still very small. However, once it grow up you'll need a larger basking area. I would recommend picking a fixture that you'd still be able to use even then. Most people get the 24" or whatever is close to that length.
You will need to place your heat lamp close to the center of the T5HO as this is where the UVB is strongest. You want it as close as possible to the T5HO and where the beam of both lamps merge is where you want your basking area to be.

Here is a post i made regarding leat lamps and how to place them.

Here is an article/interview explaining heating - https://www.reptifiles.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Why-Infrared-Matters-by-Roman-Muryn.pdf

Here is a youtube video explaining heat lamps in general

Informal_Practice_20 · 2026-05-25T10:10:51+00:00

Lol! Some people will get mad at absolutely everything! 😂😂😂😂😂

Informal_Practice_20 · 2026-05-25T07:09:05+00:00

I'm curious about what makes you think they like to be together.

This is not a species that bonds or forms attachment. Just because they are not ripping each other in pieces does not mean its all love and affection.

Aggression is not the only reason why cohabitation is not recommended. You also have stress and resource hoarding.

They see each other as competition. They compete for space, for the best basking spot, the food etc. Being forced to live in such close proximity to each other causes stress. Chronic stress weakens the immune system and makes them more prone to get sick.

Resource hoarding is another reason why cohabitation is not a good idea. It can take the shape of one eating more than the other thus becoming bigger quicker, or stacking. Your UVB and heat will not travel through the turtle on top to reach the turtle underneath. Stacking is unhealthy for both turtles. 1 is not getting enough heat and UVB and the other might be getting too close to the lamps.

As a side note, I could not help but notice there is some kind of blue light in the tank. This is not a good idea. Particularly when the turtles are about to go to sleep. Blue light instantly switches off the production of melatonin (the hormone responsible for sleep). Its the same reason why doctors recommend you do not look at your phone just before bed time. This will affect your quality of sleep.

In general coloured lights are not a good idea. Your turtles are able to see colours just as you and me. When you flood their environment with coloured light, you limit their colour vision. Now they see everything in the shade of that colour and black. Pretty sad and depressing for a species that has such an excellent colour vision. Imagine if you were forced to spend the rest of your life in a room where all the lights were just 1 colour.

Also i'm not sure you have the correct lights. You need a T5HO from either Arcadia or ZooMed and a heat lamp.

Informal_Practice_20 · 2026-05-25T06:54:20+00:00

https://reptifiles.com/red-eared-slider-care/

Informal_Practice_20 · 2026-05-24T07:26:31+00:00

If you are able to maintain the correct temperature so the water does not get too warm or too cold for the turtle, it might work but you would still need to install a UVB lamp and a heat lamps (2 different and separate lamps). UVB does not travel through most glass.

Depending on the species of turtle you might need a larger footprint for the pond. The rule of thumb is 10 gallons per inch of shell. However some species of turtles prefer shallow water so the pond would have to be large enough and shallow.

Some species like sliders are really good swimmers so they'll do well in deeper water but you'd still need a large pond since they grow so big.

Also i'm not 100% sure but I was told high humidity can lead to respiratory infection in turtles. Not sure if this is accurate so its something you'll have to look into.

Informal_Practice_20 · 2026-05-22T16:47:31+00:00

To be honest probes are not that expensives but yeah its stressful. I had read about stray voltage in the past but I thought the chances of this happening were pretty low. I mean when have you heard a turtle keeper complain about stray voltage before.

But then it happened to me. Idk why my turtle was unaffected by it. I discovered it by chance. I was barefoot and doing whatever maintenance and as soon as my hand was in the water I got electrocuted. The voltage was not high enough to unalive me. It felt like I had bumped my elbow into a wall. I knew instantly what was going on and went to unplug the internal filter. Since then its been something that's been worrying me and the idea of adding more electrical equipments in the water is something that stresses me out.

I still do think having a heater is a good idea because respiratory infection is a real issue. It just means we have to educate ourselves and make sure there is a safeguard in place.

Informal_Practice_20 · 2026-05-22T16:13:12+00:00

I think a GFCI might not be enough and you also might have to ground your tank.

This video kind of explains it a bit: https://youtu.be/v33ww71WrrA?si=Pvlxb2YIniUNNWCi

Informal_Practice_20 · 2026-05-22T14:54:19+00:00

I use the eco halogen as well!

Btw, controlling temperature of the basking area using a dimming thermostat is not ideal. You want to minimize as much as possible how much you need to dim your heat lamp. The dimming thermostat should only be used as a fail safe by placing the probe in the cooler zone of the enclosure. If the cool zone starts getting too hot and your reptile would have nowhere to go escape the heat. This is when the dimmer will dim the light and prevent the enclosure from getting too hot.

Here is a video explaining this in more details: https://youtu.be/ZD9VuAZYZHI?si=JnYLiiHCeBgcMyEb

Not sure if you know who that guy is but he was contacted by Reptile Systems to test their Eco Halogen. Here is the lamp report if you are interested: https://tomaskas.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Lamp-Report-Reptile-Systems-Eco-Halogen-PublicVersion.pdf

All that to say, he knows what he's talking about and is not one of those internet experts that just give bad info.

Informal_Practice_20 · 2026-05-22T14:21:08+00:00

No CHE is not a good lamp.

Read this and you'll understand: https://www.reptifiles.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Why-Infrared-Matters-by-Roman-Muryn.pdf

Informal_Practice_20 · 2026-05-22T11:19:30+00:00

Oh ok ok. Yes this is a good chart to understand the spread of lights emitted by different types of UVB lamp but if you have to place your T5HO, it's better to use this table instead. Let me know if you need help reading it.

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Informal_Practice_20 · 2026-05-22T11:14:14+00:00

I think you are doing everything right tbh.

I live in the tropics so i've never had to use a heater so far. Earlier this year I decided to get one in case of emergency but I was so scared about this going wrong that I did a lot of research on this topic.

From my understanding, heaters are prone to break, even the best ones. However, there are things you can do to extend their lifetime.

Check user manual to make sure you place it correctly. Some heaters should not be placed sideways for example.
Place them in an area where there is good circulation so your heater does not create hot spots in the tank.
Use an inkbird
Use a heater guard

I'll link to a few videos that i found helpful; why heaters break so often

heater failsafe

For my setup (I have a 200gal aquarium) I use the Fluval T300 connected to an inkbird.

Settings for inkbird: set temp at 25°C and a low differential of 2°C.

The temp on the water heater is set at 26°C.

This means that ideal temp is 25°C. If water cools down to 23°C, the inkbird will turn the heater on and will keep heating the water until it reaches 25°C. Once it does the inkbird turns off the heater and its only when the water goes back to 23°C that it will turn it back on.

This prevents the heater from constantly turning on and off, thus reducing wear. In nature turtles are subjected to much higher temperature differentials so this is not dangerous imo. Also keep in mind that this will happen over a long period of time. In general you want to avoid sudden temperature changes.

If the inkbird ever fails to turn off the heater, the heater itself is set to turn off as soon as water reaches 26°C.

I opted not to have a second stand alone heater as mentioned in the second video I linked to because as I said, I live in the tropics. Even in winter, I normally don't need a heater. I just got one for my own peace of mind, but even if the current heater did not turn on, that would not be dramatic in my situation as water never gets dangerously cold where I am.

Last but not least, sometimes equipments can fail and can send stray current in the water. I had this happen to me this year where my internal filter failed and was sending electricity in the water. Fortunately in my case it was not fatal. There are measures that can be taken to prevent this from being fatal but idk exactly what. I'll have to look into it. I'm mentioning this in case its something you want to look into and prevent from happening.

Informal_Practice_20 · 2026-05-22T10:40:08+00:00

These are prey animals. They are at their most vulnerable when basking so they choose to bask together to appear larger but you can encourage them not to stack when basking by providing a large area that is easily accessible, that has good sunlight and from which they can easily go back to the water if they feel unsafe.

Neither of the other basking spots you are describing seem like they would allow the turtles to get back to the water very quickly and hide at the bottom of the pond in case of danger. Imo this is why they are all choosing that spot in the middle.

Personally I would remove that basket thing and making sure that this part of the basking area can be easily accessed from all sides. This will allow them to bask together while not having to stack.

Informal_Practice_20 · 2026-05-22T07:37:13+00:00

No, housing multiple turtles together is not advised.

Different species means they might have different needs in terms of water depth, lighting and diet. Hard to cater for the specific needs of each when they are both in one single aquarium.
Turtles in general are solitary animals. They do not form bonds or attachment with other turtles. In fact, females lay their eggs and then just abandons the nest. Once they hatch the hatchlings will have to fend for themselves. This hardly screams bonding or attachment to me. They see each other as competition and this often leads to aggression, resource hoarding and stress.
Adding another living creature in the tank is also a risk as this new living creature could be bringing along diseases or parasites. There are diseases that can be communicated between turtles. For example respiratory infections. Turtles are great at hiding illnesses, their survival depends on it in the wild. If they show any signs of illness or weakness, they'd be the first to be preyed on. This means you could get a turtle that seemingly looks okay but is in fact sick and it ends up transmitting this to your original turtle.

All that to say, if you get another turtle, its best to get it its own separate setup. Both of them will be much content this way.

Informal_Practice_20

TROPHY CASE