Eastern long neck trying to get out

[Friller2009]

Hey again, yeah unfortunately the advice you were given about the aquarium gravel is really bad, it's actually a huge problem for captive turtles as it also causing scarring and pitting of their plastrons.
Turtle kept on gravel...
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Turtle kept on sand..
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Yeah a basking area of 30° is only 4° warmer than your water... you want a basking area 10-12° warmer than the water or they simply won't bother.

Turtles cannot eat out of the water, they need to be submerged to be able to swallow so yes, all live food items including insects and worms simply get thrown into the water.

If you have a lake or dam close by, it's a lot more feasible to trap your own feeder fish, that's what I do.
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Hunger is a great motivator. Hold up on the pellets, the crap he's used to. Turtles are like kids.... offer a kid MacDonald's every day for a year then throw a fruit salad in front of them and watch them turn up their nose. It's a game of wits and turtles are great at getting their keepers to give them what they want... tough love it. His health and longevity are at stake.
[doublepost=1588495301,1588495035][/doublepost]Make sure your turtle has a normal circadian rhythm... a normal day/night cycle. When it's dark outside, no lighting should be on over its aquarium or even in the room the tank is in.

Nice fish trap.
I use the same ones to get fish for my turtles.