Using Filtration for Dirty Tortoises

Status
Not open for further replies.

theTurtleRoom

Active Member
10 Year Member!
Tortoise Club
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Nov 5, 2012
Messages
410
Location (City and/or State)
Lititz, PA
Note: I personally don't keep any tortoises at this point (all aquatics), however, Joshua at TurtleTowns.com and I work together with his turtle and tortoises.

Especially with our Indian Stars, they love their water...and love pooping in their water. We're big fans of making maintenance as little as possible to enable turtles and tortoises to just do their thing. So, in an effort to keep from having to suck the water out of this tub every couple days, we pulled everything out of the tub and drilled the tub for a sump/canister combo. Its working quite well, and I will eventually apply a similar idea once I have space to keep torts of my own.

These are after the filtration was setup, but before the rest of the habitat was put back together. We have since upgraded the canister on the setup:

IMAG0126.jpg


IMAG0124.jpg


IMAG0128.jpg
 

AustinASU

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2012
Messages
1,152
Location (City and/or State)
Pensacola, FL
You can then use those urates to grow the tortoise food, do a small scale aquaponics system.
 

Kapidolo Farms

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Tortoise Club
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Nov 7, 2012
Messages
5,172
Location (City and/or State)
South of Southern California, but not Mexico
I see some things that worry me about this set-up, just thinking out load here no need to find mal intent.

If there are any gut flora that will excel in the anaerobic filter, then they will and the tortoises will end up drinking a soup of them, and push their gut balance off. Same can/does occur with aquatics. Much like the need for uva and uvb for lighting, I think a uvc inline sterilizer would be 10,000 x better for your tortoises aquatic tendencies.

I had a similar need with some K. erosa several years back. I just drained the water, and rinse the water area out through a bulkhead in the bottom, then put a short standpipe of an inch in the bulkhead, and a gallon per hour drip emitter was constantly on and replenishing the water which would fill, and overflow down the standpipe in the bulkhead. New feces, just pop the standpipe out, scrub, rinse, and re - place the standpipe back. With a constant slow drip they could also 'bath' themselves, and seemed less "intent" on soiling the water every time it was cleaned, like so many do. More tortoises or a bigger area, more gallon per hour emitters.

I've also done the same in outdoor enclosure where the bulk head emptied into a void under the water area.

Will
 

theTurtleRoom

Active Member
10 Year Member!
Tortoise Club
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Nov 5, 2012
Messages
410
Location (City and/or State)
Lititz, PA
Interesting input, Will. I've never considered the possible "overloading" of the intestinal bacteria.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

New Posts

Top