Equipment Review and Discussion :: egg crate durability

[Raphulk]

So I've been planning on making a custom above tank basking area (or atba like bulldog says) and ive tried to look at everyone elses idea to get a couple thoughts on what i need to keep everything safe for the turtles, but also stable for a lot of use.

A couple questions rose when the thought of using eggcrate came up:

1.) for anyone who use egg crate for their ramp, did your turtles limbs ever get stuck or anything like that? because i have 2 RES, raphael and hulk, and raph is almost 4 inches but hulk is stil small 2 inches. so im concerned that maybe they might have a tought time getting up and down the ramp to and from their basking areas.

2.) for anyone who used egg crate again, was the material able to withstand some pressure from the turtles weight? for now i dont think thats a major problem since my turtles dont weigh much. but if i could get some opinions on this and maybe what you guys used to reinforce stability.


3.) what other materials seem logical to use for making the turtles ramp? safe, easy, and considerably cheap

[marisa]

I have some egg crate material waiting for possible use as a divider. I've never made a ramp with it, but personally wouldn't because I don't like the idea of turtles having to use it like a ladder and having to step precisely on it to climb (if they miss, the food slips through and maybe gets stuck if the foot is large). Just my opinion, though.

My impression is that it wouldwithstand the weight of turtles the size of yours. It is brittle material, however, and can crack easily. By the time I had gotten the piece I bought home, I had managed to crack one corner, and I don't think it was being handled roughly.

To me, the most logical (but not the cheapest) material for making a ramp is corkbark. If you get a good corkbark curl (not a flat piece), the curve for the ramp is already there, and your turtle would not need anything else. If you are interested in corkbark, take a look at www.blackjungle.com

[Chrisbarnett]

Plexiglass/acrylic is another good material. However, it's a pain to cut, you have to use a cutting disk with a dremel, or a router. If you don't gave either one of those, its going to be a pain. You can also bend it, but you have to have a heat gun to bend it.

[Raphulk]

ouch^^

hmm i could try and think of some more ideas.

thanks. anymore ideas or some input on eggcrate?

[mat012]

Plexiglass/acrylic is another good material. However, it's a pain to cut, you have to use a cutting disk with a dremel, or a router. If you don't gave either one of those, its going to be a pain. You can also bend it, but you have to have a heat gun to bend it.

You can also use a jigsaw fitted with a blade for cutting metal (basically a very fine toothed blade). It works well and is fast. The heat gun would be the easiest way to bend it, though you could also heat it (very carefully) with a blow torch (waving it a couple of inches away from the surface of the plexi). I have heard of some heating a metal rod and bending the plexi against the hot rod too.

I actually found cutting and bending the plexi to be the easiest part of the custom dock building process. But I did have the tools. Building/attaching the in tank supports was the hard part for me.

[Chrisbarnett]

Plexiglass/acrylic is another good material. However, it's a pain to cut, you have to use a cutting disk with a dremel, or a router. If you don't gave either one of those, its going to be a pain. You can also bend it, but you have to have a heat gun to bend it.

You can also use a jigsaw fitted with a blade for cutting metal (basically a very fine toothed blade). It works well and is fast. The heat gun would be the easiest way to bend it, though you could also heat it (very carefully) with a blow torch (waving it a couple of inches away from the surface of the plexi). I have heard of some heating a metal rod and bending the plexi against the hot rod too.

I actually found cutting and bending the plexi to be the easiest part of the custom dock building process. But I did have the tools. Building/attaching the in tank supports was the hard part for me.

Interesting info! thanks for mentioning that. If/when I build an acrylic ATBA I will try out the Jigsaw method. I have had great results with a dremel, but I also have a Jigsaw readily available, So i'll try that.

Hmm, a blow torch eh?
One is readily available to me, but do you think it is worth it rather than just using a heat gun? Ie: did you get better results with the blow torch than you think you would get with a heat gun?

[Turtlebiz]

i use egg crate, and i love it!! i use it as a ramp to get to the above tank basking area and it also makes up the floor of the basking area which i have covered in terrarium liner. i think it's a great choice for a basking area/ramp. to answer your questions:

1. my turt has never gotten stuck in the egg crate and he can also climb up on it very easily. he is just about 4 inches long. i would make sure that the ramp isn't too steep, but also gives your turt enough space to get into the water safely.

2. i think egg crate is very durable and that it should have no problem withstanding your turt's weight. in addition to the weight of my turtle i also have 2 clamp lamps attached to the top of the basking spot and the whole structure is resting on the top of the tank.

3. i know other people have used plexiglass and the zoo med turtle dock. my ramp is made out of egg crate but it is resting on top of the turtle dock so it's at a good angle for my turt to climb on.

[Daniel3507]

Chris, personally i would think a heat gun would be the easiest way. ive used a heat gun for automotive work and on my hockey sticks. ive always thought you get much more even heating from a heat gun and you can control it better. ive never used it on plexi but i have used both to bend the blades of hockey sticks and heat gun has always been better for me

[Chrisbarnett]

Chris, personally i would think a heat gun would be the easiest way. ive used a heat gun for automotive work and on my hockey sticks. ive always thought you get much more even heating from a heat gun and you can control it better. ive never used it on plexi but i have used both to bend the blades of hockey sticks and heat gun has always been better for me

Thanks for the reply.
I figured a heat gun would be the best way to heat it, but I figured I'd ask since both are readily available. But I won't be working with acrylic or plexi for an ATBA for a while. I still have to pick out what design I like best, blah blah blah.

[Daniel3507]

its definitely a long process.

[Swaypippin]

I use egg crate, just buitl mine about 2 weeks ago now. And I love it. It was so easy to do. Looks a bit odd though, oak stand and tank trim and white squares on teh top...

I have shelf liner in the bottom of the basking area, I had it on the ramp too but someone (Sisqo) decided he wanted to eat it.. Dummy. I didn't have it tacked down well though. I'll redo it eventually, but th reason for the shelf liner was so he didn't get stuck.

He is about 5.5 inches so I wasn't worried about his legs I was worried about his gynormous claws. He has about 1 inch long claws, so I was worried he'd brake one. So far the only thing I don't like about the egg crate is teh noise Sisqo makes when climbing up there.

All in all I think I spent my 13$ well.

[Chrisbarnett]

I use egg crate, just buitl mine about 2 weeks ago now. And I love it. It was so easy to do. Looks a bit odd though, oak stand and tank trim and white squares on teh top... .

That's my problem with eggcrate. It doesn't look as professional as acrylic does. well, at least in my eyes.