Habitat - Indoor :: Dumbledore's happin' pad!

[Congelata]

Hey everyone!
We are going to get hammered with snow in the next few days so I thought I would start on the basking area.

I need your opinion before I start though.

I am using egg crate to build it. After staring at the top I decided to create two different areas, one for UVA/B Lights and the other for the nighttime heat lamp.
Is that ok?

I was also going to ziptie the ramp at the joint.

If anyone has advice that would be awesome!
Thanks!

[Kansasslider]

No need for a night light.

[steve]

The ramp will be egg crate too? Do you have a sketch of the area? How big is your tank?

[Congelata]

Yes the ramps would be egg crate as well.
Ive been thinking about placement and whipped this up.
My tank is 35 x 17.5

On the right is a larger area. I have two placements for the ramp.

The left side is a smaller area due to the filter holes.
Ideally I would like to have both, one for UVA/B and the other for night heat lamp.

[steve]

I'm not sure I understand… so you'll have ramps at both ends of the tank?

[devilduck]

Turtles normally sleep underwater at night, so I don't think you need a night heat lamp.

[Kansasslider]

No need for a night light.

I hate to quote myself.

[Congelata]

No need for a night light.

I hate to quote myself.

Haha sorry I must have missed that earlier answer.
I removed the heat lamp and she seems fine.

I finished basking area experiment 1. It is a bit crude at the moment but it is sturdy.

I have officially run out of zip ties and will be snowed in for a couple days.
She has taken an interest in the basking area ramp but hasn't fully explored it yet.

I am a bit worried about the sides of the ramp. I cut them with wire cutters and wasn't able to file them down fully. I am worried she might brush up against the edges and cut herself.

If need be I will just remove the ramp, hack saw them off, and then wait to put it back once I have more ties in experiment 2.

[Kansasslider]

That's funny. I was talking about devilduck not catching I had just said that..

[Congelata]

Lol oh! Either way I totally missed that post...

[Kansasslider]

Oh trust me it happens to all of us. I might post on several threads a day its easy to loose track sometimes.

[Congelata]

Well day 2 and I do not think Dumble has basked at all. I might have heard her once climb on top of her floating log but that is about it. I am worried she will get shell rot if she keeps being afraid of the basking area. We tried just placing her there but she freaked out and shuffled off.

Then again it is pretty cold here so she might prefer staying in the water.

[Kansasslider]

I have a red eared slider that doesn't bask at all don't worry about shell rot.As long as you have good clean water.

[steve]

Have you measured the temperature? Lured her up there with pellets?

[Congelata]

Dumbles is basking!! I am so happy! I was so worried she hated it.

I got more zip ties and a reptile rug that will fix to the basking area and cover the ramp joint.

The ramp is still a bit weak though. She slid off the ramp pretty quickly last night.
I need a better way of fixing the ramp to the platform.

I thought about putting the turtle dock under the ramp so she has a sturdy place to get on and off the ramp.

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I made her some turtle shots from the thread on this board She seems to like them but I might need to alter the recipe. They don't congeal very well so I freeze them. When she bites they crumble apart.

Yes those are Darth Vader shapes