Happy Turtles Pub

Habitat Decorations

It's always fun to decorate your turtle's tank. Just keep in mind that many turtles will not find your decorations pleasing, so they may "redecorate" it themselves! With all tank decorations, rinse them in HOT water before putting them in the tank. Items which used to be organic or were collected from the outdoors (shells, corkbark, rocks) should be boiled to remove bacteria and parasites. Live decor, such as plants, should be rinsed thoroughly and quarantined first. Some members also use a very dilute permanganate solution to clean plants from untrustworthy sources. This toxin is very dangerous to ALL living things, including humans. Be VERY careful when using this, and research it thoroughly.

Plants

Plants are a wonderful addition to a turtle tank. They provide a natural environment for your turtle to live in, a great snack for turtles, a resting place for tired hatchlings, and hiding places for live feeders.

Some turtles will eat the plants, while others will simply destroy them and dirty their tank. Regardless, they will be gone quickly, and your tank may have lots of dead plant matter. Live plants are a wonderful food source, but they do require more maintenance. We suggest having a separate tank to grow the live plants in, and then just adding in a few plants a week to the turtle's tank.

Plants can get expensive if you buy them from the local pet store. We suggest purchasing in bulk from online dealers. Another option is to get plants, free, around autumn when people are cleaning the annuals out of their pond. Some common pond weeds also make great turtle food, so you can also volunteer to weed someone's pond. Some species of plants, like anacharis and hornwort, grow very quickly. It's very nice to grow these in a separate tank alongside other turtle food like fish and snails.

Supposedly, the Amazon Sword plant is bitter and turtles will avoid eating the leaves. However, they will pull the plant out (if possible) and eat the roots.

Rocks, Gravel, and Sand

Gravel is VERY dangerous to a turtle. Turtles will eat gravel and it can lodge in their digestive tract. This is a fatal condition. Any rocks that are in the tank should be at least twice the size of the turtle's head.

River rock is pretty, but too many can trap gunk and debris so that the filter can not properly clean the tank. Turtles do like having rocks to play with, but we suggest only scattering a few large rocks across the bottom to make the tank easy to clean.

Another option is sand.

You must use heavy sand, such as aquarium sand or pool filter sand. It's also a good idea to protect your filter with a pre-filter sponge on the filter intake. Sand requires more maintenance, but it can be very pretty.

Corkbark and Driftwood

Corkbark makes a nice basking area for turtles, and driftwood always looks nice in the tank. Keep in mind that corkbark gets waterlogged after about a year and will need to be replaced. Driftwood that sinks tends to be better than floating driftwood. Floating driftwood has a tendency to mold.

There is a theory that driftwood will help a tank's water parameters because anaerobic bacteria can grow inside of holes deep in the wood. This bacteria removes nitrate from the water and expels oxygen. It won't be enough to prevent water changes, but it may help slightly.

With all kinds of wood, make sure to boil it to remove any unwanted inhabitants!

Shells

Shells are a very nice addition to the tank. Just remember that your turtle may eat them! Be sure to boil them first.

Commercial Decor

Commercial decor is fine, but make sure there's nothing your turtle can get hurt on. They may try to eat it, so make sure the plastic is sturdy and has no fragile pieces. Plastic and ceramic are fine. Glass is not a good idea, as turtles WILL break it.