Turtle Vivarium
I've always been interested in the beautiful vivarium and planted aquarium designs that you can find quite readily on the internet. Beyond the aesthetic, there is a certain appeal to a successful, geographically correct habitat for your plants and pets.

This is Mr. Turtle. I got him in the summer of 2005 via a classified ad, from someone who was moving and couldn't care for him anymore. He's a young male red ear slider, Trachemys scripta elegans, and quite the character. As far as I can tell, he's always lived in this rather drab 20 gallon aquarium. This project is about building him a luxury resort.

The challenge here isn't in building a vivarium, I had some experience with that in the past, and also with running a few aquariums. The problem is the turtle itself. You'll notice most vivariums contain tiny animals such as frogs or newts. This is primarily because they can live in harmony with a delicately landscaped interior. Turtles are large. They have big claws. They enjoy knocking things over, digging, and eating pretty much anything not made out of stone. Sometimes they'll eat stones too. Turtles are pretty much the last thing you would want living in your nicely landscaped, orchid populated terrarium. But Mr. Turtle deserves the best, so I'm going to try and do it anyway.