Habitat - Indoor :: Basking rock and habitat

[Litch]

My RES is ruffly 12 years old or so. While I suspect that she is mostly done growing, I feel she still has room to grow. That being said, I need to get her a new basking rock. She has always used the zoomed floating ones but they don't really seem to be working for her anymore cause she is rather big. I also feel that her tank might not be big enough anymore but I don't want to burn a hole in my wallet getting her a new tank as well as a basking rock. she is currently in a 55 gallon tank and in order for me to upgrade it, I think I have to make her a whole new habitat. I fear that she won't like it though cause she has been similar environments to what she is in now her whole life. If I where to do this overhaul, would it effect her negativity at all? I plan on going nearly all out on this vs the bear minimums of a rock bedding, basking rock/lamp and a filter. An Idea of how much I will be spending would be great as well as any other information you'd like to share. I haven't measured her but she is about 4 - 6 inches wide and about 6 - 9 inches long

[devilduck]

Your turtle is about the same size as mine and I also have him in a 55 gal tank. That zoomed floating dock is crap. It won't stay up with a full size turtle, and they have a tendency to chew up the rubbery/foamy material it is made out of. Just make yourself a dock out of some pvc and eggcrate that you can buy at the hardware store.

I bought one and had to make a custom dock to hold up my zoomed. You can see it here:

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=32463

[steve]

I have PVC/tile for a platform in one tank and cork bark in another. I like both a lot, though the cork bark might need to be replaced every few years. Consider picking up a used tank (I was able to snag a 100 gallon tank with stand for $100). Larger glass tanks (55>) hold their value well, so consider it as an investment.

[Litch]

Well, my original idea was using silicone to essentially "glue" extend the ramp on a large one with a smaller one but the silicone didn't take. Suggestions on how to extend a ramp or what to build a ramp out of for an in-tank basking area?

[steve]

What's the in-tank basking area like so far? It's the PVC one in your build thread?

[Litch]

Yeah, I added some more egg crate with a rubber mat on it for now. It is similar to Penn's here viewtopic.php?f=6&t=33639

[steve]

What about what inspector403 has done? viewtopic.php?t=7114

[Litch]

The problem is it's an above tank basking area. I needs to stay in tank for the time being.

[steve]

His ramp could work in-tank. If it's all egg crate, then you can use plastic zip ties. What's weighing it down?