Habitat - Indoor :: Above Water Basking Area

[LouDiamondz]

i plan to pick up some plexiglass this weekend to put around the top of my tank so when my RES is basking she can't jump out the tank. WHAT WOULD BE A GOOD HEIGHT FOR THE PLEXIGLASS TO BE? MY RES IS ABOUT 4INCHES. Also how can i neatly bond the pieces together?

[Jaysea]

I used 12 inch high pieces. It allows me to keep her lights the proper distance needed from the basking area to keep her temps stable. For a 4" turtle i'd at least go 8 inches high just because they like to climb. I used aquarium silicone to put my pieces together, allow it to set overnight before putting it on the tank tho, the smell is a bit toxic when it hasn't cured. A few pics of how mine is. I also drilled holes into the plexi to help vent it a little bit.

[steve]

Looks very nice Jaysea!

[LouDiamondz]

wooow nice i like!!! are the holes you drilled for ventilation necessary? if i keep the top open would that be enough?

[Jaysea]

Thanks Steve!

I wouldn't say necessary, altho it doesn't get as humid up there as it did when i didn't have the holes in it. I'm pretty sure most of my humidity issues were because mine is a foot tall, and shouldn't be as much of an issues if yours is only like 8 or 10 inches tall. And tbh I probably could have gone without drilling it but i'm a bit anal about things and wanted to make sure air was able to flow in and out.

[Joao]

I used only 6 1/2" of plexi as a "fence", since he has the turtle topper. To hold it together I use clear packaging tape, but i wouldnt recommend that for you.

Heres a bad pic so you can compare sizes.