Money Saving Tips When Setting Up A Turtle Tank

[mariekni]

I wrote this out for another forum site and thought people on here may be interested.

Basking Area.
Most places will tell you to go out and buy the commercial turtle docks which can be pricey and useless to big turtles. Corkbark is also a really good seller for basking areas and offers a natural looking basking area. Again for larger turtles it would have to be a really large peice of corkbark and be tightly wedged in the tank to prevent it from sinking under the water. Another good tip is polystrene, we have used a large polystrene lid from a poly box and wedged it in the tank, it floats, it offers a large basking area and is cheap and simple. You could dress it up with live or fake plants making it look less like a lid and more like something that could be found on a river bank giving it a more natural feel to it.Many people also like to stack large rocks from out the garden in the tank providing a basking area. This offers a sturdy basking area but also has its draw backs as the rocks will trap dirt and attract algae build up.

Lighting
As far as uvb bulbs/tubes are concerned there's not really alot that you can save there. Repti-glo, Exo-terra, Arcadia etc are all brands that are advised by most turtle keepers. Heat lights dont have to be anything special, i personally buy either standard R63 or R80 spotbulbs from B&Q, i get a 4 pack of them for £2. These work perfectly fine and provided enough heat for basking. As for fitting and fixtures a clamp light works best but if you need to knock something together quick you can get a normal ceiling light fixture and attach it to a long slender piece of wood the width of the tank. raise it to an adequate height (note this shouldnt be used as a permenant fixture).

Substrate
The substrate shouldnt be anything that can fit in the turtles mouth as they WILL eat it and this could cause impaction which is deadly to turtles. If you live near a beach or visit you could pick up large beach pebbles which make a lovely substrate and is free. If you can not get to a beach then these are available to buy from any DIY store. Playsand can also be used. Standard ply pit sand should be washed/rinsed thoroughly before use. Soft shells particually like sand as they like to bury down in it. Large slate chippings can be used also (again nothing too small) and can be bought cheap from DIY stores. The set back from substrates though is they can hold dirt and can be a pain to clean. I personally stick to no substrate as it then gives the turtles a little more room to swim.

Cuttlefish.
Cuttlefish can be picked up from any pet shop and is quite cheap. Alternatively you can take a walk down the beach and see if there is any that has been washed up. Soak and wash it thoroughly before offering it to you turtles. You can break it down into more managable peices or you can weight the full piece down and let them nibble away what they want. Cuttlefish offers extra calcium to the turtles which should always be available to them for them to choose to take.

Live Plants.
Live plants can be picked up from any local fish shop but if you have any ponds or streams near you, you could ask permission to take plants from out of there. Always be sure that your turtle is allowed to eat it and it isn't toxic in anyway. The advantage of this is you may also pick up live river shrimp also which your turtles will appreciate it.

[Stephen P]

Interesting reading - some useful "cheap" tips.

It is actually illegal to take stones/pebbles from a beach, but I don't quite know how it could actually be enforced.

[mariekni]

Originally Posted by Stephen P

Interesting reading - some useful "cheap" tips.

It is actually illegal to take stones/pebbles from a beach, but I don't quite know how it could actually be enforced.

really? i never knew that! like you said though i cant see how it could actually be enforced too

[Fozz]

It's only illegal on protected beaches and sites..... 90% of beaches are not protected so I wouldn't worry too much....

Some good tips there Marie....

[Stephen P]

I think it is in fact most beaches; you can be fined, but it is of course very difficult to be "policed".

[AnythingWithAShell]

The trick is to not get caught

[dantonyandtj]

I have been trying to find a good sized substrate (stones) for my map and slider ever since i got my map a month ago and its been driving me insane I can only find sand or reptile bedding which I dont want and the beach idea is amazing. I live about 20 mins from dover and theres 4/5 beaches within an hour of me and im going on a beatch trip this week =D =D my turtles will have their stones =]

[annsimpson1]

can I add that for big tanks the cheapest filtration system is to use a pond cannister filter with a denser medium and a pond pump for the tank. The filter because it doesn't have a powerhead doesn't really have anything that can go wrong and can be brought for around £50 often less and the pump can be anything from under £20 upwards , this system will work just the same and as well as a aqaurium filter but is a fraction of the price we used it with our tropical 6ft tank as well as with the turtles and it worked perfectly, just don't tell the sales staff as they'll try to sell you aqaurium stuff.

[AnythingWithAShell]

Totally agree with Ann there. I've been thinking of changing my big cooter tank to a pond filter, I'm just waiting to find a bargain used one

Also would like to add for dantonyandtj, make sure you scrub and boil any pebbles before you put them in. And don't get caught!

[Ferret1959]

Originally Posted by mariekni

I wrote this out for another forum site and thought people on here may be interested.

Basking Area.
Most places will tell you to go out and buy the commercial turtle docks which can be pricey and useless to big turtles. Corkbark is also a really good seller for basking areas and offers a natural looking basking area. Again for larger turtles it would have to be a really large peice of corkbark and be tightly wedged in the tank to prevent it from sinking under the water. Another good tip is polystrene, we have used a large polystrene lid from a poly box and wedged it in the tank, it floats, it offers a large basking area and is cheap and simple. You could dress it up with live or fake plants making it look less like a lid and more like something that could be found on a river bank giving it a more natural feel to it.Many people also like to stack large rocks from out the garden in the tank providing a basking area. This offers a sturdy basking area but also has its draw backs as the rocks will trap dirt and attract algae build up.

Lighting
As far as uvb bulbs/tubes are concerned there's not really alot that you can save there. Repti-glo, Exo-terra, Arcadia etc are all brands that are advised by most turtle keepers. Heat lights dont have to be anything special, i personally buy either standard R63 or R80 spotbulbs from B&Q, i get a 4 pack of them for £2. These work perfectly fine and provided enough heat for basking. As for fitting and fixtures a clamp light works best but if you need to knock something together quick you can get a normal ceiling light fixture and attach it to a long slender piece of wood the width of the tank. raise it to an adequate height (note this shouldnt be used as a permenant fixture).

Substrate
The substrate shouldnt be anything that can fit in the turtles mouth as they WILL eat it and this could cause impaction which is deadly to turtles. If you live near a beach or visit you could pick up large beach pebbles which make a lovely substrate and is free. If you can not get to a beach then these are available to buy from any DIY store. Playsand can also be used. Standard ply pit sand should be washed/rinsed thoroughly before use. Soft shells particually like sand as they like to bury down in it. Large slate chippings can be used also (again nothing too small) and can be bought cheap from DIY stores. The set back from substrates though is they can hold dirt and can be a pain to clean. I personally stick to no substrate as it then gives the turtles a little more room to swim.

Cuttlefish.
Cuttlefish can be picked up from any pet shop and is quite cheap. Alternatively you can take a walk down the beach and see if there is any that has been washed up. Soak and wash it thoroughly before offering it to you turtles. You can break it down into more managable peices or you can weight the full piece down and let them nibble away what they want. Cuttlefish offers extra calcium to the turtles which should always be available to them for them to choose to take.

Live Plants.
Live plants can be picked up from any local fish shop but if you have any ponds or streams near you, you could ask permission to take plants from out of there. Always be sure that your turtle is allowed to eat it and it isn't toxic in anyway. The advantage of this is you may also pick up live river shrimp also which your turtles will appreciate it.

Corkbark will rot and break down after time.

Polystyrene is not the best thing to use. Turtles will scratch it and the bits float around the tank. Turtles try and eat it.

Be careful not to allow a normal ceiling fitting to get wet.

It is against the law to just help yourself to sand, pebbles and rocks from the beach.

Cuttlefish bone is ok collected from beaches but watch for pollution.

Plants from streams and rivers may carry parasites.

But other than that great post.