When I picked up my RES, Walter, his previous caretaker gave us a Penn-Plax Floating Turtle Pier, that I feel is unmatched. It's large, and easily supports Walter's weight and size (roughly 5 & 3/4 inch long shell - I believe he's about 5 or 6 years old now)
I actually recently replaced it with the exact same thing, because it was time to go higher and the one I was given was incomplete, missing the center column pieces to go the full 16 inches high it will support out of the box (so it only went about a foot vertical). I'm toying with the idea of going higher, or letting it free-float, because the only draw-back is the amount of space it takes up under neath the water's surface. He can still swim between it, but I think it would make it cleaner looking if it float.
Another idea is to look for a large piece of cork, which could be anchored, like a pond-basking platform, or let float freely. But it's not easy to find quality cork around me, and I don't want to trust purchasing one online sight-unseen.
Good luck!
I got this dock for my female RES— as she was too large and heavy for her floating platform.
I have made a few adjustments to the pier to ensure optimal functioning and safety—putting large river rocks under the bottom plastic support to ensure she doesn’t get stuck. Also drilled holes in the dock and ramp and attached them with zip ties as they kept separating
Probably need a better basking platform to get him out of the water. He needs to be able to dry off completely. I got this one for my slider but I had to modify it with hair ties on each post to keep the platform from sinking. So hard to find a good one for real. Penn-Plax Reptology Floating... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004PBCFG2?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
Absolutely. Tank is a 40 Breeder. Plan is to just let the turtle live their best life! They are baby Peninsula Cooter turtles and this size tank should hold them off for the next couple years until I upgrade to a 75.
I believe the threaded rods you mention is just park of the basking dock. It is a plastic "floating pier" which serves as a basking area for the turtles to dry off and get some heat/UVB. Here's the link.
I found it on amazon. Here is the link Basking Dock
It’s the best one I could find for him. He’s heavy so it needs some tweaking and most people in the reviews have had to tweak theirs.
From amazon! (Link below) It normally has an underneath with legs that suction cup to the bottom of the tank, but she used the underneath to scratch her shell and kept unsticking it! It was pretty frustrating because it kept moving around and getting stuck and I was worried about her not being able to climb up. But I realized if I left two of the back legs on and used some suction bar holders left over from my filter set up, that I could suction it to the side of the tank, and it gave her a ton more swimming room! Ive been really happy with it.
Penn Plax Decorative Turtle Pier Floating/Basking Platform, Large, Natrual Amazon Link: (REP603) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004PBCFG2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_kCUGEbGS56YR2
This is a good option, it's 11"x16". Only thing is that if your turtles shell is big enough they could get wedged under that bottom tier, so you gotta make sure to put some big rocks or something to block it off.
I use a floating basking dock. I use This one. It will adjust based on the water level. This one won't work very well for a large turtle, so again you'll have to upgrade in the future.
I bought it but it was HUGE so I cut it in half and took out the support pillars, it just floats now. I'm pretty happy with it but I'm only using like 1/3 of what I paid for haha.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004PBCFG2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_XykPzbCB212QJ
Just make sure that the second that little guy starts growing, you either get a bigger tank with a lid, or placed the lid on that. When I first got my red eared slider, I didn’t know they were good at climbing and one escaped. Another suggestion would be to get a basking area that stays in the middle of the tank. That is because turtles have it much harder trying to climb out if it’s not on land, here’s an example (https://youtu.be/QrvfthrHYMI) Make sure whenever you buy him a new item for his tank, that you watch him carefully to make sure he doesn’t do anything that could injure/kill them. If you are getting them a new basking station make sure the water level is high enough for them to get on, as young turtles don’t have a lot of strength in their legs. I would not recommend one of these as a basking area, as these do not stick to the bottom of the tank and can be used for your little guy to escape. (https://www.amazon.sg/Penn-Plax-Reptology-Floating-Basking-Platform/dp/B004PBCFG2/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=Turtle+basking&qid=1624665217&sr=8-2) I actually used a very big rock (65 kg) for my turtle basking area, I placed it against some strong bricks and placed it near the middle. This way my turtle can’t escape using it but they still have a basking area. If you ever decide to put his new tank outside, remember to drill a hole in the side of it. Because if it rains, the rain water will raise the water level and if the water doesn’t escaped it will just keep rising till it’s high enough that you’re turtle can escape. Sorry if the English and grammar were not great, English is my second language. Edit: after posting this i rewatched the video, keep that box of wires around 30cm away encase water splashes from the tank on them.
Penn-Plax Reptology Floating... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004PBCFG2?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
I used to use that dock and my two cents would be to upgrade it, believe me I know how hard taking care of a tank can be and it takes a lot of learning to get it exactly where you.
Here is the dock it is relatively cheap and it a very good quality one that I have found. I would also recommend having the UVB and heat lamp over the dock if you can keep the temperatures good.
I would recommend a new tank as well, a bigger one but tanks a pricy and it may be out of your means right now but maybe its something you want to think about long term.
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You will also want to look into canister filters as these bad bois allow the good bacteria to stay inside the filter and eat all the bad stuff that can irritate and make your turtle sick, regular water changes are a must as well with a good quality water conditioner such as Zoo med Reptisafe.
Good luck and if you need any more help just let us know!
I bought this Penn-Plax one: https://www.amazon.es/gp/product/B004PBCFG2/
It should also be available on the american amazon!
Got you fam. Can't recommend it enough.
Item | Current | Lowest | Reviews |
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Penn-Plax Decorative Turtle Pier Floating/Basking… | $40.97 | $40.97 | 4.1/5.0 |
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Item B004PBCFG2 | - | - | 0.0/5.0 |
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Item | Current | Lowest | Reviews |
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Penn-Plax Decorative Turtle Pier Floating/Basking… | - | - | 4.1/5.0 |
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If you're talking about this one, it's all made of plastic.
This one? It is all plastic. I guess that's +10 points for the realistic look lol.
my brother and i use these off amazon
Penn-Plax Decorative Turtle Pier Floating/Basking Platform, Large https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B004PBCFG2/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_K833HN09VGV7PGTHTNWJ
I got it on Amazon. Penn-Plax Reptology Floating... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004PBCFG2?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
ive bought this platform on amazon https://www.amazon.ca/Penn-Plax-Decorative-Floating-Basking-Platform/dp/B004PBCFG2/ref=sr_1_7?crid=2TUM0I0ILQNFV&dchild=1&keywords=turtle+platform+for+aquarium&qid=1613421076&sprefix=turtle+pla%2Caps%2C211&sr=8-7
and my slider is a full grown turtle, it worked pretty good and lasted a while but i had to buy extra legs as i keep my turtles tank pretty full
I got mine on Amazon almost 2 years ago: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004PBCFG2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_image?ie=UTF8&psc=1
My RES is very large and the biggest dock works for him. Read the comments though and be ready with some zip ties. I was actually going to re-order one for him as it's already pretty beat up, but it said out of stock until May, so watch the delivery date too.
Do you mean this pier? Because I have the same one and my turtle kept knocking the suction cups off the bottom and causing the pier to float away from the lamps. This was my solution. I used small bungee cords, made loops with zip ties at the corners of the pier, ran the bungees under the pier and up through the loops and connected them to the sides of my stock tank. Works great!
I feel your pain. I built what I thought was an awesome basking area and after 6 weeks without seeing my turtle bask I rigged this up. Thankfully I had saved it and not disposed of the old pier.
Sure, here you go. Don’t mind my broken mini blinds, my iguana is an asshole. That is a reptile lamp stand that sits under the tote. I use this Penn Plax basking platform, but the reviews say it’s not great for larger turtles. There are two boards with notches cut in them across the top to keep the container from bowing as much, but as you can see it is still bowing. The lid is pvc pipe with garden mesh attached with zip ties. I run a Sun sun canister filter and a small pond pump for added circulation. The smaller hides visible are for my clown pleco that I house with my turtle. I don’t currently have anacharis in there, I restock every once in a while to watch Chenille destroy it in 2 to 3 weeks.
You can try this:
Penn Plax Large Turtle Pier For Use In and Out Of Water Basking Platform For Small Reptiles https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004PBCFG2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_AD3GzbPTW4ET3
I bought it! It's called a Turtle Pier.
I recently bought my res this platform and he loves it. I only use the top part I modified it like this He has a whisper 101 filter in his tank now (was about $40) and it is the best I've used so far, he is 27 and has broken a lot of filters, and I have bough alot of garbage filters, like the one your looking at. It will clog fast