Basking Dock Troubles

[erynwales]

I have 2 RES and for some reason, they love tearing up the basking docks. I am on my third. I use the zoomed floating dock that suctions to the side of the tank. Both are able to remove the suction cups from the tank. That is not a big deal. But the problem is they bite at the basking dock and tear it apart. Eventually the hole that the mounting bracket fits into becomes opened, allowing the dock to float free. I would not worry about that but I am concerned about the turtles accidentally ingesting the material. It appears to be some sort of Styrofoam. So far, they do not eat it. I use the net and scoop it all out.
I put in cuttle bones and they like those but still tear up these particular docks. The tank is huge with a lot of swimming room. The turtles are very happy and love to bask. But I think teenage rebellion is creeping in.

Does anyone else have a similar problem?
What are some basking docks some of you use?

[~Cindy~]

What size tank do you have?

[AJE]

The way my husband remedied that was to build a custom made basking dock out of wood, it works awesome and it's still in tact.

[Ihab-N-Morgan]

The way my husband remedied that was to build a custom made basking dock out of wood, it works awesome and it's still in tact.

Do you have another pic of that setup?  I was trying to do something similar but it didn't work.

[Risa63087]

I keep building some of my own out of wood...but I think a fly is laying its eggs in them and i end up with millions of worm-like larvae all over the wood....I have to throw them out like every two weeks its that bad!

[Travis]

What color are the worms, red?

[~Cindy~]

I keep building some of my own out of wood...but I think a fly is laying its eggs in them and i end up with millions of worm-like larvae all over the wood....I have to throw them out like every two weeks its that bad!

Your own wood which is wood that has been outside? You have to cure wood if it's something that has been outside so you don't contaminate your water. I believe to cure it you have to bake it in the oven for a certain amount of time.

Here's some information on it
http://www.ehow.com/how_4510578_cure-wood.html

[AJE]

My dock is just a medium sized dock just big enough for my two little southerns it's just a basic ramp dock nothing fancy. He has never built one for egg laying yet but will be building some for my maps and res's. I will post some pics as soon as I get some but like I said its not for egg laying.

He also uses brand new wood from the store and we have never had any problems with worms but baking it is a good idea if you are using wood that has been sitting outside or in a shed or garage I would definitely try that.

[scarysherry]

AJE, i might be interested to know if you're still rescuing unwanted turts.  my sister in law has a friend with 2 unwanted res.  please let me know if you could possible help.  you are welcome to email me, also...hummer8096@aol.com.  i hope this is allowed here, as these turts need a new home very badly.  i'd help if i could, but have 3 turts myself.  thanks.  sherry