Habitat Designing Process
When designing the habitat, start with
understanding the space requirements
of your pet, and generating rough dimensions (length x breadth x depth). Then identify the place where you
want to keep the habitat and the space available.
Merge these two to arrive at the ideal dimensions for the tank and draw
a two-dimensional diagram of the habitat.
Now you have to think
about the tank (water, land area, tank decorations, etc.) in
three-dimensional
space, trying to imagine a fat discus shaped object for your turtle and
the space
it would have inside the tank - both to swim and on dryland. Try to
imagine
its view, the obstructions that may occur in its movement, etc and
accordingly
design the various tank areas and place the decorations.
With the above
in mind draw front, side and top views of the tank, and sketch out the
tank
areas and decorations. This should give you a good idea about the kind
of tank
and accessories you need.
Its always preferable to create
the habitat
in stages over 6-10 days. Start with the tank, and basic equipment.
Once you
get a real feel of the tank add tank accessories, fill water and run
all equipment
for 2-3 days to make sure everything is functioning. We would advise
you
introduce 2-3 guppy fishes once you have the basic habitat up and
running and
observe them for any sickness/disease over 3-4 days before introducing
the turtles.
As fish are more sensitive and react rapidly, you can modify/correct
the habitat
before you get the turtles. So the turtles should be the last thing you
get, and not the first!