Habitat - Indoor :: need ideas for a sand basking ATBA

[francinemarie]

i have a 50 gallon long tank & a female RES: approximately 7"+. She basks/sleeps on a 12"x12" egg crate held by 4 suction cups. Here's a reference pic:

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j50/f ... 080111.jpg

The platform looks small in the pic, but it's actually a good size for her. She has room to move around.

I've been trying to think of ideas on how to make an ATBA sand basking platform. I do have sand in my tank already, so if sand from the ATBA got into the tank, it wouldn't be a problem. I'd like to have a sand basking area just in case she decides to lay any eggs. I'm not sure how deep the sand would have to be in order for her to lay them; that's some information that I hope to hear from anyone here.

I have looked in the Basking area pictures post, but there aren't many sand basking ATBAs. I don't have any huge tools that I could use for cutting wood or slightly burning any forms of plexi/acrylic glass to bend, so I have a small amount to work with I guess.

As you can see from the pic, the egg crate is 12"x12" so the sand ATBA would have to be about the size, give or take a centimeter. I am hoping to expand it the sand ATBA in length, since that is the only way to expand.

any suggestions on how to make one please? thank you for your ideas

[SpenceMasta]

if you want to have a sand basket, you're gonna have to build it on the edge of the tank instead of on top of it, for nesting its gotta be deep enough for your turtle to dig a relatively deep hole, i know some ppl have success with just letting their turtles lay their eggs in the water since they're not fertile or dont want them to be, but i guess that depends on the turtle and if it's comfortable doing that already

[BullDog]

That's a really cute pic!

For the sand, I think this site recommends about 12" of soil/sand for nesting, so as Spence said, you're probably going to have to fashion something that hangs off the side of the tank in order for it to be deep enough. And of course, if you go to all the trouble of building her a beautiful attached nesting area, there's no guarantee that she'll use it, unfortunately.

[grem89]

you could also just place a deep box or rubbermaid container next to your tank thats level with the top of you tank and fill that with dirt or sand. You could build up the bottom of the box so that you dont have 2 feet of substrate.

[Rubicon]

You could do it with one of my setups.

[Rubicon]

Here's a quick draw up. It would just required a simple lip to be made:

[francinemarie]

if you want to have a sand basket, you're gonna have to build it on the edge of the tank instead of on top of it, for nesting its gotta be deep enough for your turtle to dig a relatively deep hole, i know some ppl have success with just letting their turtles lay their eggs in the water since they're not fertile or dont want them to be, but i guess that depends on the turtle and if it's comfortable doing that already

Does it have to be on the edge of the tank (along with support)? I've seen one sand ATBA in the Basking Areas post that is directly on top of the tank. Would you say that 2 1/2 inches of sand is deep enough? I thought that it wasn't appropriate for a female RES to lay eggs in the tank, whether they be fertile or not. Or maybe I misunderstood that. She has never laid eggs before, so I would like her to lay them wherever she feels more comfortable.

That's a really cute pic!

For the sand, I think this site recommends about 12" of soil/sand for nesting, so as Spence said, you're probably going to have to fashion something that hangs off the side of the tank in order for it to be deep enough. And of course, if you go to all the trouble of building her a beautiful attached nesting area, there's no guarantee that she'll use it, unfortunately.

thanks, she looks so relaxed in that pic !

What exactly do you mean by 12" of soil/sand for nesting? Do you mean 12" in depth or length? And would 2 1/2 inches of sand is deep enough to lay her eggs? I'm actually looking at using the sand ATBA as a basking area as well, so that it could serve as a nesting area/basking area .

[francinemarie]

you could also just place a deep box or rubbermaid container next to your tank thats level with the top of you tank and fill that with dirt or sand. You could build up the bottom of the box so that you dont have 2 feet of substrate.

I wouldn't be able to use a rubbermaid or deep box next to my tank because my tank is on a dresser. My tank is also a 60 gallon long, so it took up 3/4's of my dresser space. thank you for your advice

[francinemarie]

Here's a quick draw up. It would just required a simple lip to be made:

thank you for drawing it! This is actually one of my main ideas on a sand ATBA. I think I would also put a wall on both sides of the ramp so that my RES won't fall off the basking area. I also don't need the ramp attached to the ATBA because I have that I could use; so all I really need is the sand ATBA made. Thank you again for the pic! Now I just need to think of the materials needed to build a concept of this. I just think that I would have to find & pay someone to build one for me.

[grem89]

if you live anywhere near Philadelphia i would gladly build one for you.

[francinemarie]

if you live anywhere near Philadelphia i would gladly build one for you.

oh really? cool! I live in New Jersey. May I ask what materials would you use & what's your concept of the sand atba? Just a reminder that my tank is in my room & have no room to put the sand ATBA anywhere on the edge of the tank. here's a pic that you can use as a reference:

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j50/f ... 300070.jpg

That is currently where her basking platform is located. Unless you can think of an idea of making the ATBA on the edge while making it look less cluttered, I would definitely prefer having the sand ATBA on top of the tank along with the proper support.

[rturtle1]

i live in sussex county new jersey. i want to build an atba.Same idea as yours with a nesting area and all.

[francinemarie]

i live in sussex county new jersey. i want to build an atba.Same idea as yours with a nesting area and all.

hey, cool! i live near newark, nj. yea i've been trying to find other people's ideas on how to make a sand ATBA.That pic that Rubicon drew is ideally the concept that i would like for one.

[francinemarie]

if you live anywhere near Philadelphia i would gladly build one for you.

oh really? cool! I live in New Jersey. May I ask what materials would you use & what's your concept of the sand atba? Just a reminder that my tank is in my room & have no room to put the sand ATBA anywhere on the edge of the tank. here's a pic that you can use as a reference:

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j50/f ... 300070.jpg

That is currently where her basking platform is located. Unless you can think of an idea of making the ATBA on the edge while making it look less cluttered, I would definitely prefer having the sand ATBA on top of the tank along with the proper support.

hey grem, were you able to think of any ideas of how to make a sand ATBA?

[grem89]

i would just make it out of plywood or mdf with a plexiglass window or side peice. Easy enough how deep are you looking to have it? I have sand in my atba. About 2 inches just to give it a slightly natural feel. No where near deep enough for nesting though