Bullfrog

Do I need to add anything?

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pb300

Turtleforum.com

Is there anything in the tank for the turtle to use to get out of the water? And what kind of turtle is that?

Bullfrog

It is a RES. I pull her out of the tank daily and put her outside in the sun for about 15min. When I get the money, I'll get a dock.

pb300

My girlfriend has a res too. She is slowly getting around to letting me buy her all the stuff it needs.
Right now the most important thing to get will be the dock. If the turtle spends all of its time in the water its shell will eventually begin to rot. It will start with pinkish patches on the bottom of the shell.
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Car...ear_slider.htm
That page will give you all the basic information you will need to know. The people on the turtle forum are very helpful and can answer any other questions you have.

Bullfrog

Thank you so much!
Is there any way I could make one? I have styrofoam, but how do I paint it...?

I think I'll silicone a glass platform off to one side or something.

pb300

There are tons of ways to make a dock. A lot of people on the turtle forum like to make above tank basking areas. It gives the turtle more room out of the water and then you can fill the tank all the way up.
I bought my g/f one of these docks and her turtle really seems to like it. Zoomed turtle dock

Its really nothing more then a piece of hard foam on a rail so it can move up and down with the water.

Heres the link to my photobucket album with the turtle projects I was working on. The ten gallon was setup so that I could take care of my g/f's res for a few days. The 30 gallon was never finished as it wasn't coming out the way I wanted. There was supposed to be a waterfall on the left and basking are on the right. The little rock outcroppings were going to have pots with various plants growing in them and moss stuck here and there. This is now my planted tank.

Bullfrog

Hey thanks, I think I'll stick with either an above tank area so that I can feed him out of the tank. Or a dock. I am thinking of ways to make above tank ones. Any ideas are appreciated.

pb300

Aquatic turtles must be in water to eat. Has something to do with the way they swallow. If you're worried about the food clouding the water you could feed him in a tupperware container with a few inches of water.

IMO a piece of plexi glass would probably be the easiest and cheapest thing to make the basking are out of. Cut it to the size of the top of the tank with a piece that extends out to use as the ramp. Boil the ramp piece to make it soft and then bend it down. Once it cools you can cover the plexi in whatever you want. Some people like to silicone gravel or sand over the entire thing so the turtle has something to grip on. After that all you need is a fence around it to keep the turtle from exploring outside of his tank.

Bullfrog

I have cut a piece of plexi to size of half of the tank. It is like a shelf off to one side, I will silicone it in the tank tomorrow.

pb300

I don't know if you want to silicone the shelf directly to the tank. Think of how much of a pain it will be to clean that side of the tank. Maybe some self-adhesive velcro would work good.