Equipment Review and Discussion :: Turtle docks?

[kikicool]

Can anyone recommend a good turtle dock? I've seen lots of info on making one...but I am SO not crafty.

IF there's a good one on the market, I'd like to know.

If someone has made an EASILY constructed dock (with ramp)... if they have time, could they tell me how? Me and l'il Shmeegs would sure appreciate it. I've tried everything, and I wonder if maybe it's his dock he hates.

Also... any good entertainment products out there? I saw the floating log but think he is too big. Any other "toys" or the like? Thanks!! All info appreciated

[missibsu]

The zoo med dock is the one that I use, like a lot of other people. It comes in three sizes. I have the large and hit hold two 4 inch turtles. Some of these docks have been known to be cheaply made. If you find that has happened to you, it can be replaced. This brand fluxuates with the water level.

There is another model that I'm unsure of the brand name. It is one solid piece and suctions to the side of the tank. It doesn't have any fluxuation, but the length of the ramp varies enough it should be a problem.

The build your own ramps that I have seen, have been made mostly out of pvc pipe. The supplies to make something like this I believe have cost less than 20 bucks. There are some pictures in the photo gallery if you do a search.

[SpotsMama]

I use the zoo med dock too and like it. My turtle's a pretty big guy - 6.5 inches. Even the big zoo med dock was sinking under his weight, so I got a second, smaller zoo med dock and cut it up in pieces and glued the pieces to the bottom of the big dock with aquarium silicon to give the big dock more buoyancy. It works!

That floating log looks dangerous to me. I think a turtle could get stuck in it and drown. Glad you're not considering it.

Turtles love some big river rocks. They will push them around on the bottom of the tank and arrange them to their liking. My turtle likes a bridge type thing that's supposed to be a basking platform above water but his is completely submerged. He goes under it and through it. Some people like a piece of giant PVC pipe for the turts to swim through. Just be sure it's big enough that the turt won't get stuck. Some turtles like to play with ping pong balls.

In the opinion of some turtles, having a few minnows in the tank is the best entertainment. Keep in mind that at the end of the day the turtle will eat the minnows.

[GPRenegade]

I used a fish tank decoration... I filled it with rocks until was above the waterline, then made a ramp out of the same rocks.

[marisa]

Do those pebbles that make up the ramp shift at all? If so, it would make it difficult for your turtle to get up to the top to bask...(You could silicone them to some plexiglass to provide more traction for him to climb them.)

[kikicool]

That's SO awesome. I love it!! But now I have ANOTHER question based on your pic: my turtle is about 4 inches, looks the same size as yours. I have MOST of his tank filled with water. Is this too much? Anyone? Looks like yours is much lower. Should I have mine be much lower, too? Thanks!

[jenaero]

No, the water level should be as high as possible without giving your turt a way to escape.

[ytse411]

Sylvia is a hefty 6lbs, and about 10 inches long - any hints for a big ol' gal?

[marisa]

Wow--a hefty lady. Do you mean for a basking area? I'm partial to cork bark myself...

[ytse411]

Wow--a hefty lady. Do you mean for a basking area? I'm partial to cork bark myself...

Yes - though I do have a big plastic 'loading dock' (as I call it) that she can crawl up- it's the width of the tank, and I glue a million pieces of gravel on for her to grip. But they keep falling off, and the person who made it for me made the incline a little too steep, and I worry that it'll be too hard for her as she gets older. (Shes about 10 now).

I'll have to look into cork bark - is there a way to keep it immobile?

[marisa]

If you have a regular tank, you could get a piece that's slightly larger than the width of the tank so it can be wedged in between the sides to hold it in place. I have a big piece in a stock tank and the piece of corkbark my RES is using just floats. I drilled a hole on each end and slipped a knotted piece of nylon rope through the holes and fastened them to the outside of the tank to hold it under the basking light. It's not immobile, but won't move far. My RES has never had a problem with it.

If you do get a piece, get a curl not a flat piece. A curl is curved so part of it extends under the water, which makes it easier for a turtle to climb on. They will tend to get flatter over time.