What should I use to make land in my turtle tank?

Question

I rescued a turtle, but I didnt have a lot of money to spend on him. Long story short, he's in a 75 gallon tank with a ghetto tank stand made out of a reinforced book case. I'm afraid of putting too much weight on the stand, so I dont want to pile on rocks to make land. Is there something lightweight I can use????? Any ideas? I was thinking of using styrofoam and putting a small layer of rocks on top to keep it from floating. Is this a good idea????

To ease Madkins mind:
I rescued this turtle from an owner who kept him in a 10 gallon tank with no lighting and less than adaquate food. He is now in a 75 gallon tank with proper lighting and food, and looks so much healthier and happier. I wasnt expecting to have a turtle, and money is a issue for me, but that doesnt mean I would deny the turtle of anything he needs. Tank stands are very very expensive and the one I made I hope will only be temporary until I raise the money to get a stronger one. I know that the water is heavy, but I want to reduce the weight of the tank as much as possible to prevent the tank stand from buckling or breaking. I already have less water than I should have in the tank to make it weigh less, but a little less water is WAY better than only the one gallon of water he was living in before. So dont worry Madkins, I doing the best I can with what I have, but thank you very much for caring. :o)

Answer 1

Styrofoam's probably not the best idea. My turtle eats all the commercial docks I put in his tank because they're made out of foamy material (which according to the dealers is safe for turtles to eat), so your turtle will probably try to do the same, except we don't know whether or not it's safe.

I've seen some nice-looking tanks where people took corkboard, cut it to fit a whole side of the tank, and then just pushed it between the sides. If your turtle is really big he might weigh it down but if you cut it and fit it so that it's really in there tight, with a slope for him to climb up on, it should support his weight.

Another option is to take suction cups (you can probably get a whole bunch for about a dollar) and stick the corkboard on that way.

If you want to go fancier, you can take strips of plexiglass and use aquarium glue to glue them on one side of the tank for a makeshift land area. You'll probably only need about two pieces--one for the slope, and one for the actual land area. The turtle will get used to knowing that it's there and if you heat up the area he'll climb up to bask on it regularly. A little time consuming but not expensive.

Good luck!

Answer 2

The basking site can be made out of many things, but before we get there, let's look at a couple other points first. (This all assumes you are talking about a common pond turtle, like a Painted or Red-ear.)

1. 'Rescued' turtles make terrible pets. They do not adapt well to captivity. In many parts of the country, it is even illegal to try. I strongly urge you to release it.

2. It takes about $150 or more to make a good turtle habitat. You need a tank that offers 10 gallons of water per inch of turtle- the more space the better. You need a good heater to get the water temps up to 75-80. You need a strong filter- 2 or 3 times stronger than a fish filter for the same size of tank. You also need lighting that simulates sunlight with ultra-violet B rays.

3. The proper food will cost you a decent amount each week. You should offer about 20% of a good quality pellet, and the rest should be live or frozen/thawed small fish, worms, shrimp, etc.



Now, the real problem here is the weight of the water. If your turtle is 4" long, it should be in at least 40 gallons of water. At about 8 lbs a gallon, the tank will weigh 320 pounds! The weight of a handful of rocks won't mean a thing!

If weight is still an issue, you can make the ramp out of a chunk of acrylic plastic with some silicone glue smeared on it for traction. Versions of this are sold in many pet stores you can copy the design of.

Answer 3

Turtle Tank Stands

Answer 4

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Answer 5

Turtles NEED land of some sort. If you do not supply land, your turtles will suffer from shell rot. The only exception is with species of soft shelled turtle witch are primarily aquatic. I would add a turtle dock, or at the least a pile of slate for your turtles to bask on. Turtles need a 65 way heat bulb and a UVB light. Turtles need vitamin D. You can purchase a Exo-terra sun bulb which has uvb and heat. I would suggest doing research and also remember to specify what type of turtle you have. Hope this helps.

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Answer 6

I think he'd probably eat the styrofoam if you put that in there. I don't know, maybe you should put a small turtle hut in there, those are pretty neat. They also have some imitation rocks that are not heavy enough to weigh down your tank, but heavy enough to stay on bottom of the tank, they carry them at Wal-Mart in the arts and crafts section or the pet section..either one. Good luck with Myrtle the Turtle!

Answer 7

at the pet store they have something called a turtle dock. i had it for my frogs but they're kinda expensive a small one was like 10-15 dollars. basically all it is, waterproof coated foam that sticks to the side of the tank with wire and suction cups. but depending on how big the turtle is you might not be able to use that.

Answer 8

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Answer 9

Styrofoam=not safe for any animal. Buy a cheap (I promise, they're cheap) plastic "land mass" at petco for him. Or, you can buy some terra cotta clay, shape it into a cool, textured surface and bake it (but then you're battling the weight problem). You could always put some kind of saucer in there temporarily...I really hope that helps!

Answer 10

I use and recomend zoo meds turtle docks, my turtles love them and neither tried to eat it. I have an extra large one cost me 18 bucks for my 4 inch red ear slider and a small one cost me 8 bucks for my baby snapper.