Urgent Care :: rock ingestion

[marisa]

I'm so, so sorry to hear what happened. I know what you're going through is horrible; when I once lost one, I kept everything as is for I don't know how many days, refusing to change anything because it would mean he was really gone.

You really tried to do what you thought was best for him, though, and I hope you can take some comfort in that.

[TinySlider2]

We are sorry to hear about your loss!

[Jlynn810]

Ok, I'm VERY new to RES's and I have been browsing this forum to gain info. My question here would be, Should there not be gravle in their tanks? Hope Im not being ignorant I got my turtles yesterday??? Thanks for any insight.

[kc]

i'm sitting here reading this while i'm taking a break from studying the finals. i have pretty gravels on the bottom of the tank and people on this site before told me i should remove it but i refused to because i think my turtle will never eat it. after reading your story i decided that i'm going to remove all gravel right after i finish posting this reply. i definately don't want my turtle to go through all that andi definiately don't want to spend THAT much money. very sorry for your loss.

[Muirner]

I'm sorry to hear about your loss, i just recently lost an RES myself and if you need anything please dont hesitate to pm me. I know it's hard, but try to do something nice for your turtle. Burry her in your back yard, or by a pond..

KC - everyone here will give you advice that is good for your turtle, not good for us. Please take advice given as the proper thing to do.

[kc]

okay i have completely removed all gravel at the bottom of my tank and i also did a complete clean up too. the tank doesn't look as pretty as before i remember i heard somewhere that if you let your turtle walk on glass for a long time your turtle will develop flat paws and it's not healthy. is that true? is so what can i do?

[Muirner]

bigger rocks, if the rocks are bigger then the turtles head, then they should be safe for the tank. Personally i got mine from around a pond, boiled them for 20-30 minutes, let them cool and put them in.

I've also seen some nice ones by the ocean too.

[SpotsMama]

Elika, I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. Four years is a long time to have known him then lost him. Please take comfort in having provided him a loving home for many years.

[lotsofpets]

I don't want to burst anyone's bubble here, but this post was started Nov. 27th of last year (2005). That being said, the information is still VERY pertinent! This is a good example of why you should not have small gravel that is easy to ingest in with your turtles.

[CountryGirl68]

okay i have completely removed all gravel at the bottom of my tank and i also did a complete clean up too. the tank doesn't look as pretty as before i remember i heard somewhere that if you let your turtle walk on glass for a long time your turtle will develop flat paws and it's not healthy. is that true? is so what can i do?

Glad to hear you removed the gravel. Many people feel the same as you, that the tank looks bare without the gravel. From my experience with fish and a turtle, it is sooooo much easier to clean the turtle tank when it doesn't have gravel. But we must remember that the turtle will be happier without the problems that can occur with gravel.

I've never heard about "flat paws" in turtles. The hind paws are naturally flat and some members here have had their turtles in "plain" tanks for years and have never mentioned that.