Habitat - Indoor

Make sure that your turtle can't get stuck between those railings (of the dock or anything else). They are very curious and it does happen on occasion

So I added the water bottle buffer. It seems to be working well. I just have to figure out how to anchor it to my filter, so the water wont push it out.

Yeah I had some trouble with that too. My filter is made in a way that i could just put a sponge over it. I guess you need some kind of clips

For those who didnt see my intro thread, I found this turtle in my backyard and have been trying to get it healthy and happy. Right now I only have a 20 or 30 gallon tank, (cant recall since I bought it a long time ago for another pet) but dont think its big enough for a turtle of this size. I am using a reptiglo 5.0(higher wattage one) and a 75 watt bulb which keeps the basking area at about 90 or so. My average water temps are 75-80.

Anyways, heres the only pic I have available at work and I was hoping to get your opinions on what I can do to improve its "baskability". The floating platform is stuck to the wall and doesnt move much, plus I used an epoxy that was recommended to me as safe for turtles to attack some small rocks to make sure the one end is low enough in the water to get on to. Hell crawl up there to get food, but never stays.

Apologies if this is the wrong thread for asking such questions...

Ive since decided to get rid of the small gravel as well...

Good call on the gravel. To get the tank size, measure L x W x H (in inches) and divide by 231. I'd fill up the tank with more water, get a better filter, and try cork bark for the basking area. Those Zoo Med docks just don't work well with some turtles.

I hate to zoo med docks. They get all slimy and don't support much weight. They are fine for little turtles but your turtle will out grow it. Until you get a bigger tank, you should build an above tank basking area to give maximum swimming room. You'll need a powerful filter too but if you are getting a bigger tank soon, I dont know if you should put too much money in to this tank. Do you know if its a boy or girl?

If you raise the water but keep an in tank basking area, make sure you cover the top because turtles are good climbers! We like to use egg crate (in the lighting section on home improvement stores) because its cheap and easy to cut to whatever shape (its a plastic grid).

A lot of turtles dont like to bask when people are in the room..especially if they are new turtles. Chances are, your turtle basks when you arent around. When you aren't in the room, quietly sneak in and take a peek. One of my turtles likes to bask at night..I only see her up there if she doesn't see me!

This thread is great. Very helpful for those of us looking for ideas or trying to upgrade our tanks. Everyone is so creative and there are so many great looking enclosures. I really hope this thread keeps going on and on... keep posting those pictures!

Im going to swing by my local home depot and hardware stores to find some egg crate if I can. I like a lot of the set ups in this thread with the two "layer" set up.

Just thought id update that I picked up some egg crate and acrylic today, but also filled up the tank with about twice as much water.

Even though his basking area was around 90 already, he seemed to like the closer distance to the lights enough to finally start basking. In fact, hes been basking for about 2 hours and I keep putting off turning off his lights because hes wide awake and finally soaking up some "sun".

Planning on constructing my ATBA soon, but i just have one question. Do you guys glue the ATBA onto the rims of the tank, or just let it sit on top?

The one I am making will just sit on the rim of the aquarium.

GpB311, good to hear he likes his basking area!

i.love.res, I wouldnt use glue incase you want to remove it to clean the tank or to reach in to get your turtle. Plus, if you ever get another tank, you want be able to sell that one as easily. If you type in "build thread" in the search bar, you will see a ton of step by step instructions on how to build them to sit on the top without glue. Usually, they have pegs in the four corners of the box and it sit on the inside lip

Seems like my res prefers basking at night when its a bit quieter and theres less people and animals walking about. He is very skittish, so Im not too surprised. Only problem is he starts basking at like 9pm and seems to stay until I finally give in and turn off his lights to go to bed. I know I should keep the schedule regular, but Im trying to get his shell and him a little healthier since he didnt bask for so long.

How do i make sure the turtle does not move it then? I even imagine Shadow pushing the whole ATBA into the tank :lol:

It doesnt just sit on top, its built in a way it cant be knocked in or off. Like I said, do a build thread search and you will see what I mean

Habitat - Indoor :: POST YOUR BASKING AREA PICTURES HERE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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