Habitat - Indoor :: What do you make your turtles basking area From?

[fizzmonkey211]

Can you guyz help me out? I just got myturtles!!

[wezeles]

i have rocks for the adults but just a store bought one for the babys... really dont need alot for the little ones...

when picking a dock just make sure its stable and wont fall, and that its user friendly enough that you can get at it and clean once in a while...

they are by far the dirtiest part of my turtle tank because it has constant light and water on it gettin dry and wet... builds up algea badly so its gonna need a good cleaning every few weeks so keep that in mind...

[steve]

One of mine is PVC/ceramic tile, the other is a large piece of corkbark.

www.redearslider.com/basking_platform.html

www.redearslider.com/custom_platforms.html

[FLhaven4strays]

I voted wood, since my son's tank for his map & painted has an above tank basking site. It's really vinyl board, but looks like wood, and there's a covering & some corkbark & rocks for decoration.

The pond turts have a large center rock and they also climb out of the pond w/ a plastic "ladder" (latticework hanging into water) and bask on the outer rim of the pond. I'm getting ready to change their basking area though & make it out of submerged rock supporting corkbark.

[marisa]

I use corkbark for all basking areas.

[Amg81083]

None of the above! I used plastic peg board from Lowes =) works like a charm. 'Sewed' it together with copper wire & sewed reptile carpet onto it.

[emma]

I used rocks, fake plants, and plexiglass.

[Sally's Mom]

I made my first post to this forum on 1/17 when I asked about the proper water level of a turtle tank. Since then, I expect to receive my Rena XP3 canister filter, backgound, veggie clips, and tons of other stuff by this weekend, and already have a separate tank of anacharis and duckweed ready to go.

I'm so excited to FILL Sally's tank 'to the rim for swim' this weekend that I've been scouring the boards to view all sorts of out of tank basking areas. I'm very handy and will eventually create something as fab as Grey Goose or Breigh and others have done but in the meantime....has anyone used a plastic storage bin?

I'm thinking that I can screw the bin (I have one that will fit the width of my tank and is about 6 1/2 inches high) into a piece of thin plywood to fit the inner rim of the tank, lay a green astro turf-like carpet from a cheap door mat and secure a dock that I already have. My question is about the lighting. Would the 75W UVB and heat lamp be hot enough to melt the plastic? I've got shelving above the tank and think that I can clamp the lights where they'd still be about 12" from the basking spot. The bin has a cover where I can cut out the middle for the light beams to hit Sal but still keep a rim intact to stop escape attempts.

Has anyone ever made and out of tank basking area out of a plastic bin? I'd be interested to see Amg81083's peg board set up and any photos of similar set ups, and also pros and cons about this idea. Thanks in advance for your continued help.

[grey goose]

I doubt if a 75w bulb could melt plastic unless its VERY close (like almost touching).

[scripta_elegans]

Mine is a combo of plexiglass, premade, glass, and reptile carpet. It's a big mutt.

[AnthonyGarcia]

i had my tank custom-made. it has a glass shelf where i put a flat hollow wood and some flat river rocks.

[flyjawn]

the one my dad and i are working on right now is wood, slate and plexi.