oO SKIPPY Oo Posted March 6, 2010 Report Share Posted March 6, 2010 all my ideas for my turtle basking location have come up with issues so i thought maybe i can make some sort of timber island with dirt or sand on top - so is there any timber that anyone knows of that i can fully submerge that wont leak toxic stuff into the water ? cheers Skip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwiplymouth Posted March 6, 2010 Report Share Posted March 6, 2010 Any native hardwood should be fine as long as its not treated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oO SKIPPY Oo Posted March 6, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2010 like macrocarpa ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwiplymouth Posted March 6, 2010 Report Share Posted March 6, 2010 No. Macrocarpa is neither a native or a hardwood. Its an imported softwood. Look for rimu, beech etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlos & Siran Posted March 6, 2010 Report Share Posted March 6, 2010 Rimu is prolly about 30 or 40 odd dollars per meter....Beech won't won't be any cheaper, using any timbers like that would be sacrilege. Bearing in mind that any untreated timber you use will rot if it's exposed or immersed, Totara may be your best bet if you want to do the native thing, Macro has a natural insecticide, and don't quote me, but I think it may take longer to deteriorate, but it's fairly cheap, or untreated pine? just replace it every few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 6, 2010 Report Share Posted March 6, 2010 Why don't you just use a big chunk of driftwood? Then you can carve it out however you like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insect Direct Posted March 6, 2010 Report Share Posted March 6, 2010 Could use a plastic fish bin or similar to make an island in the middle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwiplymouth Posted March 6, 2010 Report Share Posted March 6, 2010 Macro has a natural insecticide It also makes cows abort if they eat it. It may not be harmful to fish or turtles but there is no way in hell that I'm putting any in my tank to find out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlos & Siran Posted March 6, 2010 Report Share Posted March 6, 2010 Why don't you just use a big chunk of driftwood? Then you can carve it out however you like. It's a shame you're so far away, we have a piece of driftwood that would be perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlos & Siran Posted March 6, 2010 Report Share Posted March 6, 2010 It also makes cows abort if they eat it. It may not be harmful to fish or turtles but there is no way in hell that I'm putting any in my tank to find out. It's only the needles that make them abort. Any Cyprus or pine will do the same thing. We've had a piece of macro in our tank for around 8 months and had no probs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oO SKIPPY Oo Posted March 6, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2010 my plan is to use a fish bin or similar but i wanted to use wood around the outside so the turts can climb up it...and to hide the uglyness of the plastic....i was just going to do a bridge type things between 2 plastic planters but we dont think that idea is going to work and wouldnt be enough area for basking / egg laying. also thought about using smooth round river rocks in a volcano type shape and have the center hollow with pond line then fill that up with sand but then we dont have enough rocks for that idea and it doesnt guarantee the rocks wont move about with earthquakes etc.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insect Direct Posted March 6, 2010 Report Share Posted March 6, 2010 and or you dont need a laying area. as long as they can bask. and when they want to lay just put them in the garden, they get restless and will be looking for place to dig when wanting to lay. Not ideal but easy enough to manage for only a couple of turtles, if your onto it. = more water in pond and possibly cleaner as they dont drag the substarte in. Just another idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oO SKIPPY Oo Posted March 6, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2010 and or you dont need a laying area. as long as they can bask. and when they want to lay just put them in the garden, they get restless and will be looking for place to dig when wanting to lay. Not ideal but easy enough to manage for only a couple of turtles, if your onto it. = more water in pond and possibly cleaner as they dont drag the substarte in. Just another idea. hmmm that could be a goer - that way i can just get some large chunks or wood.... that would be my wifes preference as well - is it easy to tell when they are looking for a place to lay ? like would they be frantic for hours on end and be really noticeable ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insect Direct Posted March 6, 2010 Report Share Posted March 6, 2010 Yep i find it realtively easy to tell. Like most reptiles they normally laze around sunning or eating. But when ready to lay they become more active searching out a place to lay. They seem to like been out in the garden and if they find a spot they like (easy to dig soil) will lay almost straight away. Can put a cage in garden and leave there for a few hours etc. Just dont leave them roaming or take your eyes off them if not confined. Amazing how far they can travel before you notice it, even on those little legs Could even just make up a big bin with dirt in the bottom and add them to that for an hour each day when you think theyre about to lay.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted March 6, 2010 Report Share Posted March 6, 2010 Synthetic carpet makes a surface easy on the shell and hides a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted March 6, 2010 Report Share Posted March 6, 2010 What about driftwood? Looks natural, provides grip, free. Yes it will rot eventually, but probably you will feel inspired to change your pond/island before that causes problems anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breakaway Posted March 6, 2010 Report Share Posted March 6, 2010 How about getting some of that fake grass stuff and gluing it onto the plastic fish bin? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted March 7, 2010 Report Share Posted March 7, 2010 You used to be able to buy a toy Thunderbirds island, complete with parting palms and sliding swimming pool. That would look neat if you can find one!! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oO SKIPPY Oo Posted March 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2010 we got some synthetic carpert from the warehouse - but didnt like the look of it - so we went on the hunt last night for a large-ish chunk of driftwood - found the perfect peice that let me "sculpt" it to what i needed - it was odd shaped and the turtles wouldn't have been able to climb up it as it was so the old chainsaw came in handy this morning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.