General Care Discussion :: escape artists?

[scriabin]

I have my girls in a temporary 30g tub while I am house-sitting - I was recently advised to add as much water to the tub as possible to help stabilize the water quality. But the more water I add, the more I have to raise their acrylic turtle platform, and I've heard turtles are great escapists...

At the moment, the "escape point" is 4.5 inches from the top of the aquarium. I have two 4 inch RES, by which I mean their shells are 4" - with extended legs and head they would be 6" I think. I'm sure they could stand up and get their front legs over the edge, but I'm assuming because of the rigid torso, they won't actually be able to pull themselves out of the aquarium.

Am I wise or foolish in this assumption? Is there a rule of thumb for "escape points" vis a vis shell length?

Thanks,

Jonathan

[megcornell]

Maybe they can't pull themselves out, but if they stack to bask the upper turtle could flop over the side.
Do you have something you can use to block off that side of the tank? Even if it interferes with some of the light, it's better than having to hunt down escaped turtles. Even something like an edge of cardboard secured as a lid over the top would keep their escape attempts at bay.