How Much Does a Turtle Tank Cost? (6 Examples)
Turtles will not survive in a small dish with a plastic palm tree-like many people usually house them. They need proper housing that mimics their natural environment.
For that reason, purchasing proper housing for your turtle is a worthwhile investment. However, different stores offer this equipment at different pricing, and knowing what it will cost you to purchase a turtle tank from each store will help you save a lot of money.
On average, a complete turtle tank can cost you somewhere between $100 and $350 if you factor in an additional cost for basking platforms, lighting, thermometers, a turtle tank filter system, artificial plants, and other stuff that are bought separately. However, used tanks are always less expensive and may cost you half the normal price or less depending on the store.
The pricing range mentioned above is based upon my research on the charges from various online stores including Walmart, Amazon, Petco, eBay, Petsmart, and myturtlestore.com.
I will walk you through the price range of each store as we go along.
Types of Turtle Tanks
Plastic Turtle tank
Plastic turtle tanks are lightweight, easy to clean, and are at the cheapest end. They are ideal for a turtle owner who is tight on budget but needs something better than a wooden enclosure or a dish.
Some plastic turtle tanks are well designed and are modern. However, they don’t offer clear visibility of your pet from the outside like glass tanks. Worse still, they are not as sturdy as the glass or acrylic tanks and these explain why they are cheaper.
Glass tank
Glass turtle tanks are durable, secure, and make excellent displays. Their clear visibility and ease of cleaning are some of the added benefits that make them more expensive than the plastic types.
However, everyone is aware of the glass break-ability and if you are a less experienced pet owner, you should be extra careful when handling it.
Acrylic Tank
Acrylic turtle tanks are more like glasses but are lighter, stronger, and come in different shapes. They can easily be bent and designed into different shapes and sizes during manufacturing.
On the downside, they are easier to scratch and can be scratched by your turtle claws.
Wooden Enclosure
The main benefit of wooden enclosures is that you can make one by yourself and in such a case, it will be the cheapest. However, they are not appealing to the eye, and cleaning them is a hell of work.
Besides, they absorb water and this wears them out very fast. I usually recommend them as a secondary enclosure – to temporarily hold your turtles for a while as you are cleaning their main tanks.
Where Can You Buy Turtle Tanks?
You can purchase turtle tanks from various stores online or offline. I would recommend purchasing a turtle tank from a store near you in person for clarity.
However, if you are not close to any turtle tank store, you may want to purchase online. Some of the online stores that sell turtle tanks include Walmart, Amazon, eBay, Petco, & Petsmart. Let’s find out their prices.
How Much Does a Turtle Tank Cost at Walmart?
The cost of turtle tanks widely varies at Walmart depending on the type of the tank and size. In terms of type, plastic is the cheapest, ranging between $15 and $20. Acrylics are not expensive either and may cost from $25 to $100.
The Glass types are the most common and more expensive, costing somewhere between $50 and $200 depending on the size. For instance, Aqua Culture 10-Gallon Turtle and Tetra Tetrafauna 20-Gallon Deluxe Aquatic Glass Turtle Tank Starter Kit cost $58 & $184.45 respectively.
How Much Does a Turtle Tank Cost at Amazon?
Just like Walmart, Amazon offers a wide range of turtle tanks in terms of size and type. In general, expect to spend between $13 to $35 on plastic turtle tanks while the glass type costs between $69.99 and $85.99.
How Much Does a Turtle Tank Cost at eBay?
eBay is one of the largest online turtle tank stores you will come across. They offer all types of turtle tanks in different sizes. For a plastic turtle tank, expect to pay between $12 to $34.
Acrylic turtle tanks have a wide range of pricing due to their difference in sizes. eBay offers different sizes that can accommodate from insect spider turtles to the largest turtle you may own. For that reason, they have a wide range of pricing. The cheapest can be as low as $7 but some can cost you up to $160 or more.
On the other hand, the glass type seems to be the most expensive on this site, costing around $50 to $200.
How Much Does a Turtle Tank Cost at Petco?
Petco is another site with a large selection of turtle tanks created to suit all your pet’s needs. Just like Amazon and other sites, the prices of the tanks widely vary depending on the type, size, and material.
However, by the time I was shopping from their site, there were very few options to choose from. There were only a handful of glass tanks with sizes ranging from 20 gallons to 75 gallons. Their prices range between $24.99 and $114.
How Much Does a Turtle Tank Cost at Petsmart?
Petsmart is a very popular online store offering a variety of pet stuff. When it comes to turtle tanks, only the glass types were available. To be specific, the 20-gallon Zoo Med ReptiHabitat Aquatic Turtle Kit and 40 gallons Thrive Turtle Start-Up Kit costing were the only ones available when I did my shopping. Their charges seem to be a bit higher as these two brands were charged at $209.99 and $219.99 respectively.
How Much Does a Turtle Tank Cost at MyTurtleStore.com?
Another great online turtle tank store is myturtlestore.com. The site offers different types of turtle tanks but the most common is the glass type. A 10-gallon aquarium turtle kit on this site for instance will cost you $169 while a 20-gallon Deluxe aquatic turtle kit is $309.
As you can see, it seems to be the most expensive site. However, I liked the fact that they offer free shipping to your location.
Note: All the charges mentioned above are exclusive of equipment that are bought separately such as filters, lightings, artificial plants, among others.
Why are Large Turtle Tanks So Expensive?
You will realize turtle tanks prices shoot as the size increases. Why is that? Because the larger the size, the more gallons it will hold. Given that the tank will hold more gallons of water, the walls have to be thicker.
That is why you may realize a big difference in the prices of a 10 gallon and a 40-gallon turtle tank despite being of the same materials.
Which is The Ideal Size for a Turtle tank?
An adult pet turtle should live in a tank no smaller than four feet in length. For turtle housing, bigger is always better because most of these reptiles are active swimmers.
To be precise, for smaller species measuring 4 to 6 inches, a 30-gallon tank is the absolute minimum size. For turtles between 6 and 8 inches, a 55-gallon tank is ideal. And turtles measuring more than 8 inches, will need between 75- to the 125-gallon range.
Even if you start with a younger turtle you may need a larger tank so that you don’t do a lot of replacements as the pet grows.
References
https://www.amazon.com
https://www.ebay.co.uk
https://www.petco.com
https://www.walmart.com