Reptile & Amphibian Forums

how many of you use cork bark for your basking area? i was thinking of buying some because my turtle dock and turtle ramp suck. my turtle is getting too heavy.

and with the cork bark, where should i buy it? do i have to clean it?

can you cut the cork bark? i was thinking about making stairs in it. or a side with a straight area like a ramp.

thanks
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I don't know how long it will last, but I've been using a piece for a few months and think nothing looks nicer/more natural for a basking area. It floats and I had to cut it to wedge in between the sides of my tank. Don't know how you'd make stairs, but if you buy a curl--not a flat piece--so that part of it extends below the water, your turtle shouldn't have a problem getting on it. My turtle easily grips it to climb on. I bought mine at www.blackjungle.com

Before using it, I used a brush to gentle get off any loose pieces, and I let it soak for a few days in clean water to release some of the tannins, changing the water when it became discolored. I dried it in the oven for about 15 minutes to kill anything nasty on it. Some people don't soak/rinse it, and if you don't, your water may become discolored. It's not bad for the turt, just not that nice to look at, and it will lessen in time. HTH

I bought some cork bark just over a month ago at petsmart. (it was kinda expensive)I like the look of it as well, but it still changes the colour of the water so it looks like tea within a couple days. I think it will eventually stop. My turtle loves it and I find it works better than a flat suface because the air can get underneath him and dry him completely.

hey, i got the cork bark. i was at the local pet store and they had it. its awesome. i think my turtle really likes it. she was scared of it at first...took her like 10 minutes to finally get used to it and just climbed right up.

how long do you think it will last?

thanks
i honestly think cork bark has worked better than the floating island and the turtle dock,and the turtle ramp.
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