Habitat - Indoor :: Zoo Med Docks and a Bird Cage

[lotsofpets]

Does anyone have a medium or large Zoo Med dock? Are they thicker or the same thickness as the small one?
Donatello has definately outgrown his small one and I looking into either getting a bigger Zoo Med dock or making another out of container basking area for him. He hangs over the edges and can not completely get out of the water anymore plus the suction cups are wearing out and when he sits on it, the dock slides into the water with his weight.
When I went home to my parents' house a few weeks ago I suggested making another out of tank basking area similar to the one we made together at Christmas time for Monet. Well, my dad and I were out in the barn when I mentioned this and he pointed out this old, small birdcage. I am not sure, but I think he was joking about making it into a basking dock, but I thought with a few modifications it might work quite well. My dad made some of the necessary modifications while I was there and I brought it home to clean up a bit and finish, but I have not gotten to it yet. I wanted to know everyone's input before I continued with this project. (the birdcage was free - so no harm, no foul if it doesn't work)

[SpotsMama]

Can't quite visualize how a bird cage could be transformed into a basking platform! Maybe you could describe it.

On the docks, I can't recall if they were thicker, but the bigger docks were definetely more buoyant than the smaller ones. When my turtle outgrew his little one we migrated to the medium sized one then to the bigger one and they worked just fine.

On suction cups, you can replace them when they wear out. Most of them are interchangeable (not saying they are all interchangeable). Here's an example of some ou can buy:

http://www.reptilesupply.com/product.ph ... ts_id=1774

[Starchick]

Send an email to zoomed and let them know your suction cups have worn out, maybe they'll replace them for you, I had a problem with some that I bought and they sent me new ones. The only way I can figure to use a birdcage as a basking area would be to use the zoomed dock and just fill the tank all the way, and just use the birdcage to keep the turtle from escaping. If it fits, I don't see why it wouldn't work. You'd just have to attach it somehow so the turtle can't dislodge it. They sell those terrarium expanders that are basically wire cages that snap on top of regular sized glass tanks, so something like that would probably work the same way.

[N4784N R4613]

Here you go...
http://www.zoomed.com/shop/ZMLstore.cgi ... ogno=TDS-4

[lotsofpets]

Yeah! post 200 (finally) Anyway, thanks for the links. What he really needs is a bigger container, so sometime in the near future I have to get a bigger home for him. (He's 3.75" now! and he is living in a 30 gallon container) Since no one wants to give me a job, money is pretty tight right now. I am waiting to get his new home bought and setup before I figure out how long to make the ramp part of the basking area. My dad gave me 1/2" square galvanized mesh that is not supposed to rust to use for the ramp. I might buy the suction cups anyway as a backup or for other uses also because I can never find suction cups without the hooks anymore.