Habitat - Indoor :: How much water do I put in my 55 gallon tank?

[Amana]

I used to have my tank half filled and the other half had my turtle Peekaboo's basking area. She's 5 yrs old.

She used to stand on the rocks and stick her head out almost all the time..she sometimes used to rest like that or sleep.......but now i filled up almost the whole tank, and the basking area is all the way near the top of the tank (building an ATBA soon)

So now she goes all the way to the top to stick her head out of the water....she cant rest or sleep standing on the rocks anymore, as the water level is really deep.

IS THIS OK???? should i keep the tank half filled or all the way. Please help...

Also the tank has to be fully filled if i build an ATBA....any suggestions

[steve]

You can have a submerged level for her to rest on, but it all depends on the type of style you want for your tank. The top should also have a screen if the water is that high and doesn't have some sort of cover. Can you post a picture of the setup?

[Amana]

i tried taking pixs but it wasnt clear..my webcams not that great.

ya the top is covered so that she doesnt jump out....i should probably get a log or brick or something that she can sit on and stick her head out at the same time...but it will take a lot of room in the tank...and she just wants to stand and not sit most likely

do all turtles go out of water for air so often, or does mine have a problem?

[Azfar]

I prefer log or any non abrassive rock. Don't use brick, it could hurt or scratch your turtles plastron (bottom shell). Maybe a river rock.

Turtles do go out of water for air.. My turtles will lay on their basking area about 3 4 hours sometimes sleep.. I think your turtle is normal. Don't worry.

[Rosepruner]

One suggestion that a guy at PetCo gave me was to go to Home Depot and look for river rock, because they sell it really cheap there.

Also, you can put fake plants in the water that float (I think zoo med makes a line of fake plants, specific for turtles and aquatic reptiles), I like the duckweed that I have in my turtle, but make sure if you get fake plants that your turtle can't eat it, because if they eat it, it can cause serious GI tract issues for them. You can also try glueing in ledges/ shelves made of acrylic using a silicon aquarium glue, I've seen quite a few people here use that. As you can tell, there are lots of options. You can also get a smaller dock, or even little floating lilly pads that won't support the full weight of the turtle, but will give your turtle a resting spot so she doesn't have to swim all the time, and they don't even have to be at the water level, just a little spot for them to stop and rest. My turtle likes to climb, so I have a waterfal feature he can climb when he doesn't want to be on his basking area. They love lots of water.

Turtles go out of water for air, it's how they breath, plus, they like to look around. My turtle likes to watch outside the window, or me, depending on whats more interesting.

Good luck

[theartbook35]

My rule of thumb is to have the water level the height of the width of their shells. If you want Peekaboo to be able to poke her head out and rest on the rocks, then that's would be the best water level for her.

Basically, my turtles are two inches long, and an inch and a half wide, so the water isn't higher than an inch and a half. Their hatchlings so they like to crawl and dig more than swim.

If you want Peekaboo to take a dive now and then, I'd suggest a submerged turtle ramp, either one of those suction cup anchored ramps, or a big flat rock that she can't move.

Do you have any pictures of your tank?