So I am moving at the end of May and then will move again in August/September. The question has, of course, come up: How do I move a turtle? The answer is, very carefully haha
My plan is multi-fold.
- Cosetta will be moved to a smaller plastic container with water, basking lights, and heater (possibly) while her tank is being loaded up.
- Tank water will be emptied into big, sealable buckets. I want to keep as much of her water as possible to avoid any shock and make sure the nitrogen cycle isn’t too interrupted. I do plan to run the water through cheesecloth though to get all the particulates out.
- Cosetta will be moved to a small cardboard box lined with sponges and paper towels for the actual car drive.
- When we get there, her water will go back in to the tank and I plan to let the tank cycle for at least 30 minutes before she goes back in, probably an hour at minimum. Cosetta will go back in her smaller container of water with the basking lights and possible the heater for the cycling.
- Done, she is back in the tank and happy!
Any suggestions? This is best I have come up with from the internet that doesn’t include getting another tank to set up there and have cycling for a while before I move there.
We will repeat in 4 months 🙂 I may, may, get her a bigger tank when this move happens. I am playing with the idea, I would like to build her some tank furniture and incorporate some live plants, but that may be a project for next year!