Habitat - Indoor :: platform traction suggestions

[scripta_elegans]

my little Sparky will be moving into his own 80 gallon stock tank soon, leaving Ms. Spike alone in the 125. I have purchased materials from glass cages to build him a super duper over the tank basking area, but I need to create traction on the piece of acrylic that he will need to climb oto get up there. It doesn't have to be pretty, but it must be functional. I would prefer not to add much weight to the platform, so stones are out. I am thinking something like turtle turf, but that is okay to be submerged partially.

[kgielda]

I used turf on mine and it was fine.

[Cramer]

strips of aquarium sealant, applied like ladder-rungs works well. They provide good traction, handholds and are soft. Plus, if you get a good bead on the application, they work like sqeegies, to wipe water the plastron.
btw, it's cheaper to buy the bigger tube in the caulk isle.

[N4784N R4613]

I agree with Cramer. It is cheaper to get the big caulk tube, and it is easier to apple with a caulk gun, then one of the smaller tubes IMO. You could even silicone strips of acrylic onto the ramp like ladder-rungs.

[LOBO]

i'd simply scratch up the surface. u can always just make horizontal cuts to make a ladder like ramp.

[grey goose]

How about reptile carpet?

[evlock]

I used a cut off wheel in a dremel type hand piece to cut short grooves and half barrel shapes in my ramp. It works beautifully. No problems so far with algea. At first, Fred tried to eat them from the underside, but that only lasted for about an hour, then he figured it out. I also used the wheel to round off the edges and corners.

Evalie

[TheComputerGremlin]

You could take runner (that typically goes under carpeting) and attach it. It's very thin and grooved. I have runner at the bottom of my tank to keep Mikey from scratching up the glass and it's working fine.