Habitat - Indoor

Hi! In a little while I'll be moving into an apartment for school. I've lived in apartments before but I've always left my RES Mr Bean with my parents (where he doesn't get the best care). I'd really love to take him to an apartment with me, so I was wondering- how have you dealt with landlords regarding small pets and aquariums? I know some apartments allow "pet with restrictions" but that usually means they allow cats and certain breed/size dogs. I know the best thing is to ask potential landlords what they allow, but part of me wants to tell half-truths, like "i have a turtle" without "he's in 50+ gallons of water".

More importantly- Mr Bean really needs a tank upgrade. I considered used aquariums on craigslist, but then I wondered about the whole Rubbermaid container thing. I read the austinsturtlepage.com article about Rubbermaid tubs vs aquariums, but I'm not sure how to set up a Rubbermaid habitat. There's some great aquarium set-ups on here, but I couldn't find many examples of plastic containers. Mostly, I didn't understand how to fix the bowing of the container.

Also- could someone give me a link to a plastic container they'd recommend? I don't know why but I can't seem to find any plastic containers >50gal through google :oops:

Sorry if these questions have been asked before; I tried to search but didn't find answers. Thanks for any help

Tractor Supply Company, if you have one in your area:

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/r ... --capacity

There are also 150 and 300 gallon ones. That said 100 gallons of water weighs quite a bit. You want to make sure it can be supported.

You can also check out plastic ponds at the big chain hardware stores.

Thank you for replying!

I saw those on Tractor Supply, but I was also curious about the price.. didn't see on listed on the page. Tractor Supply is not close to me but I'd be willing to make a trip.

Also, I don't want to go as big as 150 or maybe even 100 gal yet because of the apartment situation.. they might allow 50 but I have a hard time seeing an apartment allow much more than that

I have a turtle in my apartment and it works out just fine. In the application all it asked was if I had any water furniture, which I don't. I don't think it would be an issue for an apartment as far as them denying you because you have a 50 gallon aquarium. I think all they're worried about is potential damage by pets, or noise level for neighbors, so I think a turtle is no biggie.

But in all honesty, I never even mentioned my turtle or my aquarium (or my cat) to my apartment manager and I've been a-ok. I'm also on the ground floor.

Make sure you read the lease carefully. You can easily take in a 50 gallon stock tank... even 100 gallon. It could easily be used for storage.

atomicunicorn- The last apartment I was in allowed aquariums on first floors only. Water damage is big, I wouldn't want to be on a 4th floor and cause water damage for the floors below. I'm just being cautious because I had a terrible experience with a landlord last year (lawyer and everything). Another thing about turtles is that people usually aren't allergic

Steve- That's what I thought, no one will stop me from moving in a large container to my apartment

But what about the storage container- how do I make supports? If anyone has good pictures of a tank set-up like this I'd love to see!

I mentioned mine to the agents during the leasing process, they didn't have a problem with it. The maintenance guys have been in, too, and nothing has come of it. I have a 40 gal tank and I'm on the 3rd floor so I have worried about it some.

One suggestion for a tank upgrade...Petco will do $1.00 per gallon deals a couple of times a year, I know they had it in January and I have no idea when it will come around again but if you have some time it might be worth waiting on to get a 55 gallon.

When I moved to my apartment they said no "exotic pets"... I'm thinking snakes? Most people are afraid of snakes - lol. Anyway, I had an "entrance interview", when they asked about pets I told them I had fish tanks (which I do, I have 3 fish tanks, 1 with my RES, 1 with fish and 1 with a leopard gecko) and they said that fish tanks were perfectly fine, I didn't feel like elaborating. They didn't ask me for size or what was in them, plus whatever's in there is contained anyway. The super has been to my apartment, seen Tomi in his 75gallon tank, thought he's adorable and asked me lots of questions because he was thinking about getting a RES for his daughter. haha, they're too cute and irresistible.

If you're worried about water damage, you can always get renter's insurance, I don't think it's that expensive. They can cover you in case something happens to the tank. I live on a 5th floor by the way, and, I do own my apartment, but it's a coop so there are rules. I have home owners insurance which covers my tank and any damage that could come from it.

I haven't mentioned that I got a turtle to my landlord. They know about my 3 cats. I think they mainly put restrictions on cats and dogs or require an additional deposit because of damage they can do to the apartment... and with large dogs, their potential liability if it hurt another tenant.

A stock tank doesn't need support but you will have to raise it a bit if you want to use a canister filter with it. In that case, you can use cinderblocks to elevate it.

Thanks everyone! I'm feeling better about taking my turtle to my future apartment

I decided to go with the Rubbermaid container after all. I'll get a nice 100gal tank when I live in a more permanent place (when I don't move 3 times in one year). Thanks for the renter's insurance tip- forgot about that :roll:

And Steve thanks for the tip about the cinder blocks. Will the 8in ones at Lowe's work?

What kind of Rubbermaid are you thinking of? Is it still a stock tank? If you go with a 50 gallon, you want to elevate it more (canister filters work better that way) and you could actually build something like a cabinet for it.

Yep, still a stock tank. I went to Lowe's and got the 50 gal one. I know its not an ideal size, but I did want to make an above-tank basking area so that'll help with space. A cabinet would look much better than cinder blocks, but I'm afraid of building one that won't hold the weight

Also- my parents want my turtle in the basement because they're afraid of the container failing. Is it ok to put a turtle in the basement with loud power tools? He doesn't seem to react to noise at all, but those power tools can be pretty loud and I'm guessing it could be stressful.

Oh I guess by "stock tank" I meant "storage container", didn't realize those terms aren't exchangeable or that the black sturdy ones had a specific name :oops:

. So that's not as good as the stock tank, but it's temporary too (about a year).

Habitat - Indoor :: keeping turtle in apartment? + tank help please!

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