Basking in a new aquarium
Hi everyone!
I recently moved into a new flat and upgraded my 15-year-old red-eared slider's tank about five days ago. He seems to have adapted well to his new environment, but he has barely used the basking area.
Three days ago, I happened to walk into his room and caught him basking for the first time. As soon as he noticed me, though, he literally started JUMPING around trying to get back into the water. Since then, I've only seen him basking once.
I try to move around as gently and quietly as possible so I don't scare him, but I'm worried he won't feel comfortable enough to climb onto the basking platform unless I add some kind of visual cover around it.
In his previous setup, the basking area was inside the tank, so he seemed much more confident using it. His new tank is about 30–40% larger, and I decided to build an above-tank basking area this time so he'd have more room to swim. Do you think he'll eventually get back to his normal routine?
Thank you for reading! I'd really appreciate any advice or recommendations. 🙏🐢