Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Morti is finally getting a new habitat! I'm getting a 90g long tank. I bought a new magnum canister filter for her as well as bigger river stones for the bottom because she was eating the regular sized gravel.

The basking platform I have now, which is just a really big log, is not going to work in the new tank so if anyone has a suggestion on building a basking area it would be much appreciated. (space saving ideas are better considering she's a HUGE female)

Also I need info on live plants in the tank. Her diet until recently has been mostly Reptomin and I realize that that is not good and is probubly the cause of her obesity. So I'd like to grow live plants in the tank but which one's are "safe" and reletively easy to care for? Also suggestions on weaning her off Reptomin dependancy and onto veggies, she's acting like my 3 year old cousin when it comes to greens! I've tried romain lettuce, grapes, and chopped carrots but so far no luck.

For the basking area, I've seen some great tanks with a few long chunks of cork bark wedged in the tank to make a platform. I saw one with two chunks wedged horizontally and a third at an angle to help the turtle get up. If you can't find big enough pieces, you can always silicone it to the side of the tank to make it stay. The bark looks really natural, withstands water, and it leaves the entire bottom of your tank clear for swimming. Check out the RES photo gallery and also the reptile tanks photo gallery for ideas.

Corkbark works well for the basking area. Get a piece large
enough to wedge between the sides of your aquarium just above
water level. Underneath will serve as a hide area for her.

Anarcharis is great for turtles! Mine really like it. I do
not grow it in their enclosure but I buy it every so often
at Petsmart and feed it to them. In the summer when they are
outside I keep fresh water lillies and such in their pond and
they like to eat that as well. Also, along with greens, try
some fruit like bananas. Mine also love thinly sliced Zucchini.

Hope this helps!
Linda