General Care Discussion :: Taking my Turtle Cross Country

[Maverick84]

Hi, I will be taking my turtle cross country from San Antonio, to Buffalo. I've already read the article on the website how to transport the turtle's themselves (I have two), however I was hoping to get some advice on a temporary tank to travel with, and fill in until my household good arrive (their tank is simply way too big for me to travel with, I can't even fit it in the car). I was thinking that when we stopped for the day I would set up this tank, tub, whatever it will be in the hotel room for the night, so they have a break from being in a container all day. Any help anyone could give would be greatly appreciated.

[megcornell]

How large are your turtles?

When I transported my turtle across the country, I used a 10 gallon tank. At night, I'd fill it up partially and give her a few hours to eat and bask. Then I'd turn the light off and she spent the night in the tank. I didn't bother with a filter since it was only overnight. I'd just use the heater and a light ( I chose UVA only because it was so short-term).

If I were you, I'd go with two 10 gallons if your turtles are larger. Moving will be stressful on them and you don't want them to start fighting in a tank that is too small. Once turtles start to fight, it never really stops, so if it were me I wouldn't risk adding too small of a space on top of the stress of moving. I'd simply give them their own spaces until their larger tank arrives.

As for a temporary container for them to travel in, I used the "critter keepers" that you can find at petstores. I'd put a slightly damp paper towel on the bottom and a dry wash cloth on top of my turtle and she'd burrow in and sleep for most of the day.