General Care Discussion :: Determined to break the ramp

[VanishingReality]

My little guy has decided that enough is enough and he hates his ramp. He loved his old acrylic one but after months of him ripping it off the suction cups or stacking his rocks on the ramp to push it under the water, the ramp finally gave in. I tried replacing the suction cups but he easily got to those too.

We had another acrylic ramp but it more quickly met the same fate. I was not going to spend another fifty bucks for a ramp to last a few months so we got him a turtle dock. I know it is not the best ramp but we are using it as a substitute until we figure something out. Normally he will bask without a problem but this ramp lasted two weeks. Now he basks with the intent of wedging his foot in-between the ramp and the glass and pushing it off!

It is like having a child. I fix the suction cups just to have him wedge his body/foot/rock/whatever he sees fit between it and break it. This is his third ramp in 18 months. He goes through periods where he just has to break the ramp and it is getting really frustrated. Right now the top suction cups are off but he has not gotten the bottle ones off, wedging the leaf clip in the filter intact is more important.

Anyone been able to get their turtle to not rip the ramp off the wall or anything for that matter? He LOVES ripping any and all suction cups off, just to bury them. I am at the end of my rope with him and his destructive nature. Lately he is getting mean and will try to chase/nip your hand out of the water when you try to put the suction cups back up.

[jozzep]

Sounds like he needs a time out lol
I don't use suction cup things in my tank...Either the turtles take them off, or they come off on their own.

[wiccabrat]

I use the turtle ramps in all my tanks but for the little guys who are trouble makers it hangs off the top of the tank (the top suction cups over the rim) and the bottom ones are removed. It floats away from the back a little but they can't wedge it free or get stuck behind it.

[rsour24]

mylittle guy too small to do damage... for now

[BullDog]

Heh, yup, I know that. I used to suction the turt's plastic plants to the bottom of the tank, but they're usually back up again in less than half an hour. I've seen Ralph use his shell as a wedge to pop it up. And Frankie figured out how to tip the plant protector I had in her tank.

Their underwater platforms are suctioned on (now with 6 large suction cups each). They usually hold. Since the turts sleep on there, they don't mess with them too much anymore. Sometimes if they unsuction them, I'll leave them down for a day, and they seem to have figured it out that if they mess with their bed, they may not get a bed for that night!

Sounds like it's time to start looking into a home-made basking area, one without suction cups!

[vear]

I have an above tank basking area - the ramp is made out of plexiglass which I actually screwed into the basking area on top. There's no way he can break that (not without a screwdriver haha!)

[VanishingReality]

Heh, yup, I know that. I used to suction the turt's plastic plants to the bottom of the tank, but they're usually back up again in less than half an hour. I've seen Ralph use his shell as a wedge to pop it up. And Frankie figured out how to tip the plant protector I had in her tank.

Their underwater platforms are suctioned on (now with 6 large suction cups each). They usually hold. Since the turts sleep on there, they don't mess with them too much anymore. Sometimes if they unsuction them, I'll leave them down for a day, and they seem to have figured it out that if they mess with their bed, they may not get a bed for that night!

Sounds like it's time to start looking into a home-made basking area, one without suction cups!

I know your two are bigger then mine so it will only get worse? His leaf clip is half buried and the filter spray bar is just hang there and will continue to hang there until he stops. Luckily he decided today he doesn't like getting hit with water from the spray bar when he sleeps.

What type of ramp do you have? He refuses to have anything out of the tank. If it is anything remotely close to being out of the tank he refuses to even look at it. Brat.

[BullDog]

I find mine go through "destructive phases". They'll be determined to break something in the tank, no matter how many times I fix it. Then, one day, it just stops, and they leave it alone for a long time. Then out of the blue they might get bored again and start destroying things again

I've got an atba with a ramp made of egg crate. It's *pretty much* indestructable, though on occasion I'll find a small piece of it on the bottom, it usually came from a piece that was already broken.

[Crisg]

Hi everyone,

Our turtles keep eating their ramps. We have this kind of ramp below and they keep biting on them.


Does anyone know if they can get sick because they are "eating" this ramp?

I was reading the posts on this topic and wanted to ask: is the acrylic ramp the best type? Can anyone tell me where I can buy them?
Thanks =)

[BullDog]

Crisg- Do you provide your turtles cuttebone? Often they'll start biting the ramp when they aren't getting enough calcium. Try offering some cuttlebone (with the backing removed), and see if they stop eating the ramp.

Some turtles are just more destructive than others though, and even with sufficient cuttlebone in their diet they'll still go after the ramp. I know that www.drsfostersmith.com carries the acrylic ramps, but I'm sure many other online retailers also sell them.

[VanishingReality]

Me and my little guy really loved his acrylic ramp. If it wasn't for the suction cups we would still be using it. It is a lot cleaner then the one we are using now. If your turtle is not hell bent on destroying things I really would recommend an acrylic ramp.

[Crisg]

Crisg- Do you provide your turtles cuttebone? Often they'll start biting the ramp when they aren't getting enough calcium.

Hi BullDog,

Yes we do give them cuttlebone. I am not sure if they eat the ramp because they are hungry but we do give them calcium and we feed them once a day.

I will try the acrylic ramp. Thanks

[steve]

A custom ceramic tile/PVC pipe platform will last forever

[SliderGirl]

My Coco used to bite at the floating dock ramp too, even when offered cuttlebone. I emailed the maker - I think it's ZooMed - and they said it was harmless and anything swallowed would be passed. I replaced the ramp with an acrylic one anyway. The biting stopped, but for a short time after that we'd see tiny pieces of the old ramp floating on the top. Thanks to Coco.