Habitat - Indoor :: how high can water be without escape?

[Thirzty Turtle]

tank is 20 inches high, turtle is 4 inches from top of shell to bottom

[mybrosteve]

If you have a glass tank, as long as the turtles have nothing they can reach up and grab a hold of, you should be fine. But i wouldnt put ANYTHING past them, I am starting to think that its every turtle's goal in life to escape from wherever they are. You should also make sure that the water/basking area is far enough from the heat and UVB lights, theres a sticky somewhere on here that says the proper distance.

[Thirzty Turtle]

the tank is glass made by all-glass with i guess a black plastic brim? so i can put it as high as i want and it wont be able to get out? even from its basking spot? do u have a lid? got any pics of ur water depth?

[mybrosteve]

my water is about 4 inches from the top, so the basking dock is about 3. as long as they cant reach up to the top plastic brim, you should be fine, but you should probobly keep it on the shallow side just to be safe

[Thirzty Turtle]

how do yours not get out so close to the top?

[mybrosteve]

they cant reach out to the top, since they cant grip the glass, theres no way for them to get high enough

[Thirzty Turtle]

does urs not have a plastic brim?

[mybrosteve]

it does, they just cant reach it

[Pizza]

Adult turtles seem to be more persistent to escape, and they are also very strong, they can lift their whole body up a few inches, not to mention even a small grip can hoist themselves all the way up, so use common sense and judge how high your turtle can reach.

As a matter of fact, today one of my turtles escaped while I was out for dinner, it was placed in a separate storage bin temporarily for rowdy behaviour, and while the top was 4-5 inches high, it got out.

[industrial_girl_2000]

tank is 20 inches high, turtle is 4 inches from top of shell to bottom

I would say to allow about 8 inches for now. That will also give you room to put a basking light over him at just the right distance!

[Spookster]

it was placed in a separate storage bin temporarily for rowdy behaviour

Turtle time out?

[Kallistos]

The turtles will stack on top of each other and try and get out. So if you just have one turtle then it's not that much of a problem. With 2 or more your going to want to cover the tank.

[Pizza]

Yeah, maybe permanently, if I can find the space and large enough container, not to mention $$$ for a separate filter and heater, but all this in the future, not now.

The separated male won't stop biting my other turtle, .

[pumpkinsherbet]

that makes me really question whether i should put the island in the middle. i've noticed they will climb and kick each other to reach that top. they are sleeping now, it is late, but they'll go at. as a team or solo, they will persevere in reaching that top. but then i've only had them for a day.

[steve]

pumpkinsherbet, what island are you referring to? The basking area should be big enough to accommodate all your turtles.