Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all,
Happy Holidays and all that good stuff...
I was wondering if anyone could help me... I have 2 RES, I have had them for almost 2 years now. As of now they are in a 20L tank and it is definitely time to upgrade.
I know people have made tanks out of rubbermaid containers and such, but I do not understand how the plastic would not melt from the basking lamps or heaters.
How big of a tank is neccessary for the growth of the turts? Do people have acrylic aquariums and if so have they melted? I have been looking at various pet websites in search of a reasonable priced large tank and a lot of them are acrylic as opposed to glass.
Can people please post any pictures they have of their tanks, as I am definitely a visual learner
Thank you for taking the time to help my lil turtle babies!
~Jodi

2 RES (Scar and Snoozy)
1 Maltese (Shea)

I dont know about using the rubbermaid containers as a tank... i know that people have said they work, but I use tanks. THe best way to find a 'cheap' tank is through newspapers (Pennysaver) or your local newspaper, also i have heard of people seeing things online (usually people who are selling or giving away tanks usually want the people who are buying/picking them up to be loacal so that they dont have to ship these large tanks, and finally - local 'thrift' shops or yard sales. Lots of people get huge tanks and then their pets end up dying and they have no need for these large tanks any longer.
about the size of the tank, I have seen people say that the average size of a full grown male is 7 inches, and the average shell length for a female is around 12 inches. you probably won't be able to tell the sex of your turtle until it reaches bout 5 inches in shell length. (mine are not this big yet) but the general 'rule of thumb' for the size of the tank is 10 gallons of water PER inch of turtle. so if your turtles are each about 2 inches, you need at least a 40 gallon tank. (this does not include growth while the turtles are living in the tanks). turtles are 'known' to grow about an inch per year, though sometimes they do grow faster.
hope this helps
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~ Evie

Pets:
RIP 0.1.0 German Shepherd {Dusty}
0.1.0 German Shepherd/Collie mix {Shadoe}
0.0.2 RES turtles {Booger & Snot}
1.0.0 African Clawed Frog {Bingo}
0.0.2 Snail {Gary & Larry}