Summary:
Interesting product
Not strong enough for larger turtles
I really want to like this product, but it didn't really cut it for me. I wish there was a half, this really should be 2 1/2 stars.
I have a 9" red eared slider. I've recently upgraded to an aqueon 40 gallon breeder style tank. It's glass and the sides are maybe 0.5cm wide. I was really excited when I bought this product because I've struggled with other turtle basking solutions. I've never been a fan of the products that use suction cups. I currently use a stone bridge Zilla Reptile Basking Platform with Ramp, Large. It's good and effective, but the legs of the bridge take a lot of tank re-estate and the height of the bridge is fixed, limiting the water level.
I purchased the large size turtle bank. I tried to do a lot of research online to see if this really worked for people, my primary concern was that the magnets weren't strong enough. I don't doubt other people's reviews, but this product just didn't work out for me. These magnets are indeed strong. They are strong enough to hold the turtle bank in place within the tankbut the bank wasn't securely locked in place. If you leave the bank alone, it looks secure, but if you push down on it with your hand, it dips and sags. The bank is sort of a stretched triangle shape and one contact point is in the middle of the short side, and about 1/3 of the way on the long side. The idea behind the design is that the far end of the long side will sag somewhat in the water, giving the turtle some area to pull itself out of the water.
When my slider saw the bank, it was instantly interested. It was a really natural platform. The problem I found, however, was that once the turtle was on the platform, the bank wobbled. In particular, the short end, opposite of where the turtle was attempting to get onto the platform pulled away from the water. After flopping around for a few seconds, the bank stabilized, but 1/2 of the bank sagged into the water. It wasn't ideal, but I figured that I would try it out. Within the next hour, my turtle must have kicked around a lot because the magnet on the short side was lost and I found the magnet on the floor. I re-secured it, but found that they were both disconnected the next morning.
I asked somebody at a pet store about the product, and they swore by it. I believe the turtles that used it were smaller however, maybe 6" and it was a pond with thinner plastic walls.
Description-
The bank itself is made out of a touch plastic. As the other reviews indicate, I doubt that your turtle will be able to chew on it. The top is textured, making it easier for a turtle to grip it to climb on top. The bottom and sides are smooth, making them easier to clean.
Pros:
* "Natural Look"
* Rugged construction
* Novel design
Cons:
* Doesn't support larger turtles
* The magnets might be strong enough, but there should be more of them and they should be distributed evenly throughout the bank.
* Single hole (for drainage?) take on water and is hard to drain if it is filled up.
We have red-eared sliders about 6 inches long.
We put the turtle bank in a 50 gallon tank and, at first, we loved it. We thought we'd FINALLY found a decent platform (after wasting money on suction cup docks, floating docks that sunk, and several platforms that only allowed for 3-4 inches of water).
For a few hours, our little guy was dry, relaxed, warm, and very comfortable. He was on it less than 2 minutes after we put it in for him; he really likes it!
When he was done resting, that RES curiosity we all know and love kicked in, and he decided to try standing up on it to see if he could reach the top of the tank. Always looking for escape routes, these guys! As soon as he stood on his back legs and the distribution of his weight went from spread out to concentrated, the magnets dropped off and the bank shot out from under him and floated across the tank. As long as he and his brother are perfectly still when they're on it, it works. But turtles aren't statues! They eventually move, and the magnets fall off almost every time they do. We can hear the magnets hit the floor from 2 rooms away.
Half of the platform submerges with their weight, so only the corner is completely dry yet, when they concentrate their weight in that one corner, the magnets fly off and they get tossed off the dock.
We've built a little frame out of PVC pipe as a brace under the bank, and that has helped as a temporary fix, but we're searching for a decent basking platform....AGAIN.
Buy Exo Terra Turtle Bank - Large Now
I bought this product for my son who has a tiny red eared slider.He wanted to have a nice dry land for her,and this turtle bank is just perfect.Although it is quite big for her but i am sure this will be good enough for her when she grows big.The magnets are really strong and keep it in place.At first Keechu(the turtle)was a little scared of this big land and stayed away from it ,but after a few days got used to it and now she loves basking on it often.This product is worth buying and is definitely better than the turtle landing or the dock.The delivery was in time and the packing was superb.thanks to amazon.
Read Best Reviews of Exo Terra Turtle Bank - Large Here
Love the idea and actual feel of the turtle bank and my animals love it. But I purchased 2 and both sank, lost flotation, within a month... Exo-Terra said they will replace them but I have to send them back to them under my dime. After paying ~$30 each to begin with, I am not willing to spend even more money to ship water-logged turtle banks back to them. What a pain.
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Everything was fine with the seller, got my order when they said i would no problems. The only thing that i didnt like about the product was i thought the magnets were going to be a little stronger since i have a thick glass tank it didnt really work and i have adult turtles and it only takes one of them to sink it. But i wedged it into my tank so that it works out for them.
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Was having problem with ammonia levels for over one week no matter how many water changes and other stuff that I got from stores the levels would not go down any.Used just one treatment the levels dropped down to acceptable levels.Was going back to order more just in case there will be any problems down the road I can be ready.
