help me stop houdini!

Lrptls · 03-20-04, 12:28 PM

my red belly turtle is the best escape artist iv ever owned. i keep trying to fix the lid on his cage so he can't get out or i'm worried he'll get hurt in my herp room (luckily he can't get under the door) hes escaped 3 times so far and all in one month.
the first time he got out, it was definetly due to me not thinking, on one side of the lid i didn't have any weight on it. so i put 2 rocks on it. but that didn't hold him, he got out again, so i put bricks on each end and he can still push the lid open!
should i put more bricks on there??
heres 3 pictures of how the lid is on the tank...

Lrptls · 03-20-04, 12:30 PM

2nd pic

Lrptls · 03-20-04, 12:30 PM

3rd

Big_V · 03-20-04, 12:50 PM

Use bungee cords. Rap it all around the tank and hook it on above....the elastic nature of the cords should keep the turtle in. I cant see it having enough constant pressure to push out.

latazyo · 03-20-04, 02:54 PM

build a canopy for him, you can make it as nice or as gangster as you want, make it to hold your lights, etc

let me know if this is not clear

Lrptls · 03-20-04, 03:14 PM

i'v seen pictures of tanks with them, i do really want to make him one but i want to wait till i have an empty 100 gallon to him in, its in use right now by my monitor.

does any one have pictures of canopies so i can have ideas on how to make it?

latazyo · 03-20-04, 11:06 PM

exactly like this
http://www.turtletimes.com/forums/to...TOPIC_ID=12468

PS: that is not mine, but this is exactly what I"m talking about...I don't keep my turtles in aquariums

Lrptls · 03-21-04, 12:22 PM

thank you, i'm probably not going to keep mine in aquariums for much longer, i'm dieing to keep them in a big pond.

latazyo · 03-21-04, 02:30 PM

that's how I felt about it, and moved them to a pond

Lrptls · 03-21-04, 03:01 PM

if youv ever seen sunrunner's crocodilian pond-thats how i went mine to be. like a cage with the pond in it and have land all around it. she has alot of land around her pond but i wont have very much.

KingFfaj · 03-31-04, 11:58 AM

i had a tortoise, that was an amazing escape artist, he must have weighed almost 5 or 6 lbs, and he could climb a 6 foot fence!

, he used to run away every year then come back for spring

lostwithin · 03-31-04, 01:06 PM

Hey, if you don’t want the canopy yet, I would suggest going with the bungee cords, maybe lower the water lever a bit too make it harder for him too push out, I had too do this with my turtles, I would take those bricks off ASAP if he can push on then he may be able too upset them onto himself, which could harm him quite badly. Good luck,
Devon