Eastern Painted Turtle + Simple Habitat Setup

[kameya]

I had just recently accquired another baby Eastern painted turtle, but the weather was just in time for winter here in SoCal, so I have to keep the little one in the house for now until next spring.

Litter Paint's big head shot, got a pretty white mark behind the eye...

The plastron is just pale white, no color marks...

Since I am only temporarily keeping the litte one inside the house, I had to come up with a simple habitat plan that would be
easy to build, setup ,and maintain.

Here is the Simple Shoebox Habitat design plan...

Finished product/habitat...

Using two clear shoebox-sized plastic container stacked together...

The upper box has holes drilled on the bottom, so when I separate the two boxes, the dirty water will drain to the bottom box...

Flush the bottom box and rinse it clean. The two boxes can then be stacked together again and to be refilled with clean water. The whole cleaning process can be done very easily and quickly, and without making contact with the turtles...

The turtle landing and shelter were all hot-glued to the top container so they won't move around during habitat maintainence...

Little turtle is checking out its new habitat...

Taking a break and submerged into the water...

You can also check out my youtube video on Simple Shoebox Habitat cleaning demo here...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDb-n3QvE-k

 

[dannel]

He's cute! Awesome idea too!

 

[LindaF]

Where is his basking light? Don't forget that

 

[Levi the Leopard]

great way to quickly drain. good idea.

i too was wondering about the basking area.. and does the hide also have water in it, or is there a dry part to climb onto that i can't see?

 

[Len B]

Thanks, This is a great idea. Easy setup for over wintering the 3 little ones I brought in before Sandy, and decided to keep inside until spring.

 

[srod]

This looks like a nice DIY project! Props to you!
definitely setup a basking light and does the turtle landing dry out? Cause it looks wet in the photo.

 

[mattgrizzlybear]

Great idea! I might use this idea in larger scale!

 

[lori12386]

This looks like a nice DIY project! Props to you!
definitely setup a basking light and does the turtle landing dry out? Cause it looks wet in the photo.

Looks like he needs more water to swim too. How deep is it? Looks lile only a few inches... But i could be wrong. Also needs a dry area with a light. My painted is always basking.

 

[kameya]

The original post was simply showing my eastern painted turtle and a quick and easy way to setup a temporary habitat using two stackable plastic containers...but I forgot to show where I place the habitat so the little turtle can bask properly...

Location#1 - Under the real source of UVB...in my backyard. I would carry the little tank out to the yard on a good day and bring it in when I got home from work.

Location#2 - Inside my star tortoise's indoor enclosure. Since my Luke is mostly living in his outdoor habitat, I just place the litte tank inside the vacant enclosure that comes with UVB light and temperature-regulated heat lamp.

The current temperature inside the enclosure is set around 75°F for ambient air and ±85°F for the basking area.

I've also added a piece of small rock for the little turtle to bask upon...

Hope this additional info answers some of your concerns, and thank you all for your cares for my little one, he's enjoying it...

 

[lori12386]

Does he stay in the container all the time? If so he needs more water to swim... At least 8".

The original post was simply showing my eastern painted turtle and a quick and easy way to setup a temporary habitat using two stackable plastic containers...but [/b]I forgot to show where I place the habitat so the little turtle can bask properly...

Location#1 - Under the real source of UVB...in my backyard. I would carry the little tank out to the yard on a good day and bring it in when I got home from work.

Location#2 - Inside my star tortoise's indoor enclosure. Since my Luke is mostly living in his outdoor habitat, I just place the litte tank inside the vacant enclosure that comes with UVB light and temperature-regulated heat lamp.

The current temperature inside the enclosure is set around 75°F for ambient air and ±85°F for the basking area.

I've also added a piece of small rock for the little turtle to bask upon...

Hope this additional info answers some of your concerns, and thank you all for your cares for my little one, he's enjoying it...

 

[kameya]

Does he stay in the container all the time? If so he needs more water to swim... At least 8".

I've raised most my small water turtles in the shallow water during first year in a simple habitat like above, then release them to the outdoor pond after that.

 

[mattgrizzlybear]

Shallow works well for hatchlings or babies in my experience.

 

[theTurtleRoom]

Beautiful little Eastern Painted. Fantastic specimen. An EPT is what started it all for me. My girl will be 10-ish in May. (Have had her since '05)