Habitat - Indoor :: Where do you keep your turtle tank?

[Rexamus]

I know its suggested that the tank should be in a low-traffic area; however, I think my turtle wants to feel like he's part of the family. He thinks he's missing out if he can't see what is going on. He hangs out in this corner spot, of my daughter's bedroom where there is a clear view of the rest of the house, pretty much whenever he's not basking or eating. I took some pictures...

When it's upgrade time I would consider putting him in the living room but if it's not a good idea I won't. What do you all think based on these pictures? Where at in your house do you have your turtles home?


He's always got his feet planted on this rock...
This corner of the aquarium has a clear view of the rest of the house.

[Daniel3507]

i have mine in my bedroom. when i upgrade though i think im going to have to move him downstairs because of all the weight

[Rexamus]

I live in a single story house but am curious as to how big your tank is and your turtle?

[Daniel3507]

i have a 55 gal and its filled up about 3 or 4 inches from the top. cujo is probably about 4 inches now.

[SpotsMama]

Honestly, I think Spot enjoys people watching as much as we enjoy turtle watching. during the winter months he stays in the den where my husband and I live. He gets all excited when someone comes in the room, especially if it's me (the source of food).

[Rexamus]

Curtis is currently in a 40 gallon and 4" right now. I would like to upgrade sometime after the holidays to a 100+. My daughter would love to have it in her room but Curtis seems to want to be around the family. It would be in the living room, if we change. This is a high traffic area so I'm a little cautious. Curtis is a private basker. If he's basking and I move in for a photo...he plunges into the water. How much of an effect would it have on him if I moved him to a more high-traffic area? I have a lot of time to think about it but was curious how everybody else does it and if they overcome their shyness with basking.

[Daniel3507]

how long have you had him? when i first got cujo he would dive into the water at the slightest thing. its perfectly normal for them to do when they are new to their location. now though i can go stand right over him and touch him when he basks.

[Rexamus]

I've had Curtis since early March and he's still not used to us inturpting his basking time. But I would also like to mention that Curtis prefers to be hand fed.

My daughter would like to mention that Curtis hisses at her and has bit her once. I tell her he's not a puppy so it's perfectly normal. Although sometimes I wonder whether or not she should be handling him more. She only holds him when we're doing a tank cleaning which is about once every 2 weeks. By the way she is 11 years old and has tremendous respect for animals.

[Daniel3507]

turtles hiss whenever they are startled or get scared. cujo does that sometimes when i pick him up to take him outside. just curious as to what you mean by hand feed?

[Rexamus]

When I say hand feeding, I basically hold the food in my hand and he takes it from me while he's in the water.

[Daniel3507]

haha. i do that too sometimes. but he will eat anything that touches the water

[meltedspork]

We keep Toby in our living room and he is perfectly happy, though it is just my boyfriend and myself, no kids or other pets besides our frogs. We live in a townhouse and the first floor is all open so there is nowhere "private" to put his tank and I'm weary of putting a tank on the 2nd floor. His old owner kept him in a private room and was very skittish when we first got him and would hide in his log a lot. Now he is totally used to us and could care less what we are doing when he basks. Every once in a while if we come into the room and he doesn't notice us right away, he gets startled and jumps off his basking dock.

The true test happened about 2 weeks ago when he had about 10 people over at our house and everyone was hanging out in the living room area. Toby was happy as could be and was SO excited to see so many people, he was swimming up to the glass and checking people out. He wasn't scared at all and didn't try to hide in his log or anything.

I think it just depends on your turtle's temperament. It sounds like your turtle would like being in the living room. Maybe you could put up some sort of covering for his basking area so he can have privacy.

[Squishy]

We keep him in our game room which has a TV, bar, and pool table. He's used to lots of company, and lots of movement especially when playing pool.

He will be moved to the landing above the four steps down to the game room, just in case some dolt comes over and shoots a pool ball into the tank. I just have to find our house blueprints for the orientation of our floor joists in that area.

[Daniel3507]

i never really thought about checking the floor joists. i just put it in the corner of my room. haha

[untsmurf]

Our tank is in the living room under the stairs. It's right before the hallway to the kitchen, so we walk by it a bunch of times every day. But it's just me, my husband, and our two dogs. No children or guests. Mikey was in my bedroom when I first got him because I lived in an apartment with three other people. Then when I moved into an apartment with my boyfriend, now husband, he lived in the den with a clear view of the living room and kitchen at all times. When we first moved him out there, he would dive off his basking dock whenever we walked by, but after a while he stopped doing it. Now he doesn't care if I walk right up to him while he's basking. But he has an enclosed ATBA that he knows I can't reach through (I have to open the door to get to him, he'll jump off if I do that). As long as we don't run up to him, he doesn't hide anymore.

I think for the first few months your turtle is in the living room, you should put something around his dock, like fake foliage or something, that will obscure his view a little. This way, he'll feel more secure up there when you guys walk by. Then, once he grows and gets accostumed to you guys, you can remove it.