Aquarium setup turtle

This is the material that makes up the land portion of the habitat. While the substrate is often used to cover the floor of the water portion as well, many owners choose to leave the water part of the habitat bare.

Softshells enjoy burying themselves in the sand, so they really need an appropriate substrate. Acceptable substrates vary with the turtle species, as noted in the Species Specifics section, but here are some of the options:. Many turtles are very fond of sand, but it wreaks havoc on filtration systems because the turtles stir it up so frequently. It is not an easy substrate for a keeper to live with. Pea gravel is available at home improvement stores in larger quantities and lower prices than aquarium gravel.

Tap water is usually fine for turtles unless you have really bad water or water that is heavily chlorinated. You can use bottled water, of course, though that will prove expensive with a large setup and regular water changes. If you have a commercial filter on your tap already, the water will be fine. Some turtles like their water in the low 70s, which is about room temperature in many households. Use a thermometer to test the water.

A submersible aquarium heater is fine, but a heater guard is a really good idea, both to keep the turtle from harming itself and to protect the heater from an active turtle. Turtles often need places to hide and things to investigate in their tanks.

Plus, many turtles who like deep water also need things they can stand on underwater when they get tired, so they can stick their nose out of the water to breathe. Driftwood, fake log structures, and large rocks all make excellent habitat furnishings. When setting up the habitat, just make sure there are no large rocks that a turtle might hit when diving from the basking platform.

You can use a lamp that hooks onto the turtle tank, or you could opt for one that stands separately but can be directed down onto the tank. The light itself needs to shine on the portion of the tank you intend to set aside as a basking area. Turtles need a high-quality UV light to stay healthy. UVB light stimulates the production of vitamin D3 and maintains the natural environment, while UVA light encourages more activity and a heartier appetite. UVB bulbs should provide the main lighting.

UVB light will help it develop its shell. You should also consider running the light on a timer to simulate natural light cycles. Most turtles need a natural light cycle of 12 to 14 hours, followed by 10 to 12 hours of darkness. On a related note, you'll also need to keep the tank in a good location. You can place the tank near indirect sunlight or in shade, but do not place it in direct sunlight.

Bright, full sun could end up baking and killing the turtle. Consider using a water heater. Use a fully submersible water heater to help maintain a consistent temperature year-round. These heaters attach to the side of the aquarium with suction cups. You may need to hide the heater behind a wall to prevent the turtle from breaking it as it swims around. Before installing a water heater, make sure that your turtle needs one. The preferred temperature will depend on the turtle species. A species that prefers room temperature water usually doesn't need a water heater, but those that prefer warmer temperatures might.

Invest in a good filter. Filters are vital to the health of your tank. Turtles produce more waste than fish, though, and without a filter, you would need to change the water daily. Large canister filters work best. As a result, the tank will stay more sanitary and the turtle will remain healthier. A canister filter also minimizes the amount of cleaning you have to do.

Lastly, even though the initial cost of a canister filter is higher than it is with other filter types, the long-term costs associated with water and filter changes will actually be lower. If you use an internal filter instead of a canister filter, use the largest you can find and opt for two filters instead of one.

Even with a good filter, you will need to change the water at least once every two weeks. Look at tank covers. Select a heat-proof metal screen cover for the top of your tank. While not strictly essential, covers will protect your turtle from potential threats like broken lamp bulbs. You may also want to clamp the cover onto the top of your tank to prevent larger turtles from climbing out.

Do not use glass or plexiglass tank covers since these materials filter out the UVB rays a turtle needs for survival. Moreover, these materials are more likely to shatter or melt.

Get the tools you'll need to monitor conditions. Conditions can change slightly over time when left alone, so you will need to monitor and maintain the right conditions regularly to keep your turtle healthy. Most turtles prefer water temperatures around 78 degrees Fahrenheit 25 degrees Celsius. Land temperatures should be between 80 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit 27 and 29 degrees Celsius. Method 2. Spread substrate on the bottom of the tank only if needed.

Generally, you don't need to cover the bottom of the tank with any substrate. Substrate can actually make the tank more difficult to clean.

If you're going to use substrate, the best choices are fine sand, gravel, and fluorite. Sand is difficult to clean, but some turtles do enjoy digging in it. Fluorite is a porous clay gravel that provides plenty of nutrients for plants. Turtles generally don't eat it, but you should still opt for larger fluorite just to be safe. Create a land area. Aquatic and semi-aquatic turtles both need a land area inside the tank.

Most aquatic turtles should have a land mass that takes up no more than 25 percent of the space in the tank. Turtles use this land area to bask and dry themselves. But besides that, there is no problem with them. Tube lights are what most people would recommend you to get, and I also agree with that. The biggest advantage that they have over is that they are completely safe, there are no known problems like in the case of the bulb with the photo-kerato-conjunctivitis.

They can be a little more expensive than the bulbs but not by any considerable amount. So overall I would call the tubes the better choice. Other than that I can just say that this tube UVB light is working great.

The only reason I changed them is that I was moving and I took that opportunity to change things up for my turtles as well. So if you follow everything in this article you should be able to easily make the perfect common snapping turtle tank setup. As a final recap here is what you will need:. I hope that this guide answered all the questions that you had about how to make the perfect common snapping turtle tank.

In case you have any questions left feel free to leave them in the comment section below, and I will answer them as soon as possible.

I am also a the proud owner of 4 turtles, as well as biological sciences student at Oxford Brookes University. Your email address will not be published. Save my name and email in this browser for the next time I comment. Finding out the gender of a box turtle can sometimes be a little tricky, but with this short Skip to content. How to Make a Good Baking Area for Your Common Snapping Turtle Common Snapping turtles need to bask in order to regulate their body temperature and to properly assimilate the calcium in their bodies, among other things.

Here are a few examples of basking areas: As you can see you basically have two options when it comes to basking areas, you can either make one or buy one. Tube Light Tube lights are what most people would recommend you to get, and I also agree with that. Final Thoughts So if you follow everything in this article you should be able to easily make the perfect common snapping turtle tank setup.

Get everything you need in one package, including a gallon turtle tank set-up with a plastic basking dock, water filter, dome heat lamp and UVB light. You might not even need to add a water heater. You can get creative and use colorful aquatic substrate and other decorations to design a pond and basking dock area inside your aquarium. DIY set-ups like these are not hard to build and can be very attractive. You can have fun with your turtle tank and design it around a theme, like this Pirate Turtle Aquarium!

You can see the floating basking dock and heat lamp off to the right side, and how the turtle is able to swim under the platform for extra room.

Most likely, those beautiful goldfish swimming around the themed decorations are intended as a meal for the turtle rather than as pets. A simple option is to set-up a basic turtle terrarium using coco husk as substrate with a few pre-made bowls and hiding spots like the wooden cave. Not pictured but included would be a plastic pool of water off to the right side with a basic ramp so your turtle can take a swim.

This is a good option for a starter or baby turtle habitat. This is some high-level craftsmanship, and the upper part of the ramp has been airbrushed to look like real rock. Notice the underwater UVB light and the bare-bottomed tank. This is an easy design to keep clean! You can often keep multiple turtles in the same tank as long as they have plenty of room, and this large turtle aquarium is an excellent design for two or more. I also really like the dual filtration system with intakes on both ends of the tank.