Want to Build a Custom Turtle Platform.

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fishyz

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Dec 3, 2007
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fishyz said:
I want to make a custom platform for my painted turtle so that I can keep it it my 150 gallon aquarium. What I plan to do is make a platform that sets on one of the sections on the top of the tank. It would have a ramp on it that goes down into the water so the turtle can climb out and have a wire mesh lid so thet there is good ventalation and the turtle can get good heat and light.

The only problem is I'm not exactly sure how to make it. I know how I want to build it but not how to go about doing so. I'm. Thinking I'm going to make a fram for it out of angle iron and coat it with some sort of paint that would be safe to use with the animals. Then I would put two plexiglass sides in it so I can see the turtle and maybe have the sides, bottom, and ramp made out of sheet metal coated with the same paint and covered with gravel that's glued to it so the turtle can move around easy.

What do you guys think about this idea? I think it would work provided there are no sharp edges and the paint is safe for my pets.
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I think it has potential, I just don't know about using metal as the ramp. You could easily get away with just making the whole thing out of plexiglass.
 
Vicious_Fish said:
I think it has potential, I just don't know about using metal as the ramp. You could easily get away with just making the whole thing out of plexiglass.
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Well I don't know what the cost of plexiglass to metal would be. But I would get the metal for free because I would build it in a class I am taking. Either way I will try finding ones like this that other people have made.
 
I have a 100 gallon turtle tank, that I built an above-ish basking area out of glass. I got the 1/4 inch glass for free on craigslist and it is plenty strong and it was surprisingly easy to cut with a cheap glass cutting tool at the local hardware store. My first design had the basking platform suspended into the tank with a ramp made of glass with pebbles glued to it, then the platform itself was about 2 inches deep with sand. I thought it was really cool until I had to pull the thing out when cleaning the tank. Sand, glass, and rocks are heavy. I now I have a much simpler design that still uses glass and has a much smaller sand area with a piece of drift wood as the ramp, it also sits completely on top of the tank for easier moving. I'll take some pictures and post them (probably after Christmas though). Good luck.
 
These over the tank basking areas are awesome! Could I do something like this with my 40 G long? What type turtles are best for this type of setup? What kind of fish/plants would be safe from the turtle or are fish in tanks like this only for feeding?
 
EOD said:
These over the tank basking areas are awesome! Could I do something like this with my 40 G long? What type turtles are best for this type of setup? What kind of fish/plants would be safe from the turtle or are fish in tanks like this only for feeding?
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Try here for various turtle species and care sheets.

http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/caresheets.htm



Generally most people adhere to the 10 gallon per inch of carapace. I have a female red eared slider pushing the 10" mark. Males usually are the smaller of the two sexes. Some females can get quite large. Some people use stock tanks or even indoor ponds

As far as filtration, you need to seriously over filter the turtle's aquarium. They are incredibly messy animals.

As far as fish and plants, I have found out that whatever goes in the tank is usually eaten. It really depends on the turtle and their own personal likes and dislikes. I wouldn't recommend putting any fish in with the turtle that you don't want to lose. Goldfish are really bad for them. Rosie reds, guppies or any fast swimming fish are usually better.

You also should have a UVB bulb to prevent metabolic bone disease. Gravel is usually a no no due to the turtle swallowing it and becoming impacted. Sand works really well.

They can be a major investment. My $9.00 turtle I got over 10 years ago has cost me well over 1k in in larger tanks, filters and such. Ymmv.

Hope that helps.
 
I would want a turtle that doesn't grow to be very large. I remember when I was little there was a kiosk in the mall that sold these very small turtles that were in an aquarium, half of them basking in the light on the rock and half swimming underneath. Is there a turtle that stays relatively small?
 
EOD said:
I would want a turtle that doesn't grow to be very large. I remember when I was little there was a kiosk in the mall that sold these very small turtles that were in an aquarium, half of them basking in the light on the rock and half swimming underneath. Is there a turtle that stays relatively small?
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Yes, but those kiosk turtles were probably some sort of slider or something similar which, as mentioned before, are big turtles. I got my slider and cooter when each was about as big as a quarter and they are MUCH bigger now. I kinda lucked out and ended up with both being males, but even the males aren't small.

Some smaller turtles would be male map or painted turtles, as well as some mud and musk turtle species. These all usually max out at 6" or less. I'm sure there are also others out there. I just recently got a young stinkpot or common musk. He's only about 2.5" and will probably only get to be 4-4.5". A turtle this size would be ok in a 20 long or larger.
 
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