Habitat - Indoor :: Check out this basking area!

[Andrew7769]

lol look at cams avatar

[jenaero]

Umm..is that not a three-toed box turtle on that ramp? That's peculiar.

[grizz4me]

Saw the Avatar was wondering about more Pictures....

[Andrew7769]

lol i figured i was messin wit ya

[Brianthedog18]

Yeah Jen I was thinking the same thing when I first saw it!!

Why would you use such a ramp in a terrarium for basking? lol

Especially when it's advertised for water turltes!!

[cam722]

CAM I saw this on another web site and was interested in it also. Do you have any pictures of it in your tank?

Yes, I do have others.. just not recent ones. My grand daughter takes bazillions of them all the time.. they love posing for her.. but when I try taking them.. they hit the water thinking it's feeding time.

As for the water level.. actually it's less of a worry than the zoomed docks.. as I recall their frame only adjusts to about 3" of water change.. this ramp is at least 6" long so the water level can fluctuate that much. Mine happens to be very high up in the tank since the tank is by the wall on 2 sides there is no chance of escape and my water could go almost half way down in a 75 gallon tank before the ramp is out of the water.

I only have 2 pictures of them with the new dock.. perhaps I'll post some more soon.

New Dock Photos

[missibsu]

They look beached...and bushed, lol. Cuties. And I really like the looks of that dock. I'll keep it in mind when my zoo med one decides to break down. Right now it is still in excellent shape though. I haven't had any problems like I have heard others talk about. So I guess that is good news.

[tissigirl]

I've had the Zoo Med dock for over a year now and it is working just fine. Yes it does get algae on it, but I just use a potato scrubber and clean it about once a month. It's still tinted green, but it blends in with the background better that way anyway!

Now Mr. Turtle is growing over 5", so he does tend to sink into the water sometimes if he's not positioned just right. So I'm now looking into making a basking area to go above the tank. But for turtles 5" and under it works great.

[reptilegrrl]

The zoo med dock does come in several sizes- I have the medium size and my approximately 7 inch turtle has still not outgrown it.

Also, it can fluctuate with about 6-7 inches of water change. Just FYI.

[sweet_sorrow004]

Sorry to burst anyones bubble about most turtle docks:P but they often start chewing at them. and the arcrylic on this particular one, espeacially if used in a terrestrial setup will most likely crack either from weight or the heat and cooling.

[Brianthedog18]

I've had my turtle for almost a year, and had multiple docks, and he has yet to ever chew on any of them...

Plus, acrylic is a very sturdy material, I doubt that it will crack from the weight of a 5" turtle

[sonyj]

I've never had a problem with my turtle chewing on his dock either. I've heard that upon occasion when a turtle does chew on their dock, they are missing something (calcium) in their diet. This is easily fixed by adding cuttlebone to their diet.

[cam722]

Sorry to burst anyones bubble about most turtle docks:P but they often start chewing at them. and the arcrylic on this particular one, espeacially if used in a terrestrial setup will most likely crack either from weight or the heat and cooling.

I really think it would be difficult for this acrylic to crack considering how thick it is. It's not made for adult turtles but I use it for 2 4+ inch turtles and it doesn't even budge. They used to chew on the zoomed dock but I've NEVER seen them even attempt to chew at this one. There is plenty of room for both to bask and they don't even have to be in each other's face or space. It's the best investment I ever made for them.

[Brianthedog18]

hey Cam, do you have pictures of your whole setup? Once I move my stuff around I plan on putting my tank in a corner like that, and I like how you have your basking area set up there.

How much distance is between the water and the top of your tank? Because I think with this dock I can put it in the middle of the wall so that I can raise the water level a little higher without risking escape! Thanks in advance if you have them, but you don't need to go out of your way if you don't

[reptilegrrl]

The cracking being mentioned is not due to the weight of the turtles- as sweet sorrow said, itis from the HEAT of the basking light. Acrylic is actually prone to heat damage.

My turtle did chew on is Zoo Med dock but it does not seem to have hurt him. He doesn't do it anymore.