Baby RES turtle standing on beach opening mouth for long periods of time

Question
At my work we have a 37 gallon tank with 3 baby Red eared slider turtles. Both over just an inch long. I know that these turtles are creatures of habit and I noticed today that one of them keeps crawling onto his beach and maybe breathing deeply? I know when they are breathing their neck puffs out but he has been doing this all day and it is not like this turtle. Also he is not running away when I walk up to the tank like he or she normally does. I know local pet stores dont know anything. Any advice?

Answer
Inflating the neck is usually a sign it is smelling something.

The terms '37 gallon tank' and 'beach' make me wonder if the turtle is stressed by a small habitat- the rule of thumb is about 10 gallons of water per inch of shell length. Thus, 3 2" turtles should be in about 60 gallons of water. Usually when the term 'beach' is used, much of the tank is taken up with land or structures- we often see less than 10 gallons of water in such tanks.

Give http://www.redearslider.com a try for more ideas.

Good luck!