basking turtle question

Question
I have inherited 2 red eared sliders (one about 3 1/2 in, the other about 4) about a month ago. they had been in a 10gal tank with a rock in the middle of it. after much research, i have upgraded them to a much larger tank with a floating basking spot (with a uva/uvb light) and filtered water. the larger turtle basks almost constantly when the light is on (only about 6 hours a day when i am home, as i am worried the light is a fire hazard). however, he shows some odd behavior. the first is that he stretches out his back legs as far as they will go. from pictures i have seen on the web, it looks like this is a normal thing for them to do. what i can't finD ANY information on, is his (her?) 'thrashing.' the turtle flails its legs around (front and back) very quickly. is this normal? also, i am trying to bribe them to eat in a separate container from their main tank (for cleanliness purposes). they had prev. eaten pellets in their 10 gal, but will not eat in my new separate container. i have tried pellets, live feeder fish, etc. the little one will eat sparingly if i leave him in for about 2 hours, but the larger one simply tries to escape the tank. other than the usual (i have heard tuna, leaving them alone, etc etc), any good tips for me?

Answer
Well...

1. 'Much larger tank' is hopefully over about 100 gallons, aquarium or plastic tub. The guideline is about 10 gallons per inch of shell length. Bigger tanks reduce stress, aggression, etc. and make care easier.

2. Filtered water- turtles are really messy animals- fed in the main tank or not. We generally recommend REALLY big filters to try to keep up.

3. Basking time is too short. I understand the fire hazard... sort of. Is it near flammable materials? If it is securely mounted and safely hung, this should not be a real issue. The use of a Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) outlet makes it even safer. You should rethink this element so they can get a longer basking day.

4. The 'thrashing' is fairly common, but often indicates that it is sort of working to get warm. How warm IS your water and basking site? Water should be 75-80F, basking site at about 90F.

5. Feeding tank... I used to suggest this as well, but nowadays I dislike moving turtles. It is stressful, and a good filtration system and siphon cleaning plan (clean the bottom crud off and change out about 1/4th of the water weekly) it is unneeded. Cleaning the bottom, however, is a key to controlling odor.

6. Not eating. This can be annoying and troublesome. Consider these possibilities...
- Changes. Turtles often don't eat well for about a week after a big change (one strike against feeding tubs)
- Water temp. Too cold or too hot?
- Stressed. Sort of a catch all- includes the other two, but also tank size, noisiness, vibrations, lights, etc.

Turtles hunt by sight and smell. It might take a little training and practice to get them to eat in the new home, but try feeding the same thing from the same place for a bit.

7. Trying to escape the tank can mean a few things...
- tank habitat is wrong somehow
- turtle sees a route it wants to go and cannot figure out why it is not working- the glass is confusing it. Try taping a visual barrier over the place it is trying to swim through.


For some great advice, try these sites-
http://www.redearslider.com
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com
http://www.turtleforum.com


Good luck!