red-eared slidder turtle

Question
i'v had my turtle for several months now and not once has it been on its land bardge to bask and it rarely eats. what should i do and what's causing it (i don't know "its" gender) to act like this?

Answer
You can see some great care info at sites like www.redearslider.com and www.tortoise.org.

It sounds like the cage temps may be wrong, probably too cool. They will bask primarily to warm and 'charge up' in the sun or strong lighting, not just to get out of the water.

The climb-out item might also be awkward for it to use- some of the designs sold at stores don't work well.

The easiest way to tell the sexes is that the male has long foreclaws, a long and skinny tail, and an incurved belly while the female's belly is flat or outcurved and her tail is short and wide.