General Care Discussion :: eating platform/rock

[cmocha1]

My turtle just started eating his basking rock. Should I be worried about that? It is one of those fake rocks that float.

[my.lovely.turtle.]

a zoomed dock? He could be lacking calcium, is there cuttlebone in there for him to naw on?

[jozzep]

My turtle just started eating his basking rock. Should I be worried about that? It is one of those fake rocks that float.

I've never had that problem, but it's pretty common and i don't remember anything drastic happening.
The cuttlebone suggestion is good.

[Ashley]

Bowser does the same thing with her Zoomed dock.
She bites it all the time from all sides, occasionally trying to pry it away from the glass so she can reach the backside.
She's doing that even as I type this. LOL
I give her plenty of cuttlebone...a piece is on a veggie clip, plus I break up some into tiny pieces and feed like pellets.
It still never helps with the biting.
She's just very curious, biting anything in the tank, but the dock is just her favorite.
She has bitten several pieces off, possibly eaten some specks, but she usually will spit it out if she tries to eat it.

[cmocha1]

Thanks for the replies. It is a zoomed dock. I will have to try the cuttlebone.

[Ashley]

Ok, so Bowser has been biting her dock so much that it looks as if one corner has been filed away.
She isn't eating the pieces she bites off, and if she does then she just spits it back out.
All of the little bits just accumulate along the glass and we keep removing it as we see it.

I just want to know *why* is the dock so tasty/fascinating to her?
She bites at other things in the tank, but not like this!
There's cuttlebone (with the backing peeled off) on a veggie clip, and we hand feed little bits of cuttlebone as well.
Her pellets have calcium and other vitamins.
No known health problems.
She has all the proper lighting, basks plenty, good water temp, water level, etc.

It's just so annoying to see her destroy the dock and for me to not know why!

[cmocha1]

We don't have a cuttlebone yet but we have all the stuff he needs too. The proper lighting, basking, temp, H2O level, ect.
It is really annoying that he is ruining his dock! I wish i knew why, and what is it made out of that he likes so much. By the way Ashley I like your profile pic she looks cute

[Ranger The Red Ear Slider]

My RES has always eaten his dock even with cuttlebone in his tank. He's eaten almost the entire left side of the dock now there's a wire sticking out and the only part left if that wooden part haha Im going to have to buy him a new one or build him a ATBA when we get the 40 gallon up.
Why they like the dock so much? That I have no idea but my res likes to bite everything in his tank I think it's a little bit more of curiosity then being hungry.
The only way to stop it is to buy a new dock made out of something else.

[steve]

Hey Ashley, my male RES will aggressively bite anything in his tank. He used to bite his resin platform so aggressively that he cracked his beak. I use cork bark for his basking area, and he'll bite that too. He usually doesn't eat it and see bits everywhere but some do show up in his poop.

[Ashley]

Bowser, Bowser, Bowser...
That girl is always biting her dock!
It wasn't that big of a deal until she started eating some of it, therefore it's in her poo (which floats now).
All of the little bits of the dock are all over the surface of the water. We net the tank at least once per day and just can't keep up with her.
I really need to find another dock that she likes to climb on but not eat!

Look at how much she has eaten in just two weeks!




There's a big piece of cuttlebone on a clip that we tried to wedge to where it would be in the way, but she just moved it and continued about her business.

[steve]

Try the cork bark... I'll post a pic of how mine looks. Lights are out now

[Ranger The Red Ear Slider]

I used to net out the little bits everyday but now the only time I do is when I clean his tank.

[Ashley]

We really need to build a new dock very soon.
She has been eating so much of the dock that she poops more in one day that she had been in a whole week.
I mean literally, she poops all the time.
And it instantly floats to the surface, just like the dock.

[Ranger The Red Ear Slider]

Yeah same thing with my RES poop. ATBA is a good option.

[Ashley]

EDIT: Decided to buy this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Kordon-Novalek-OA ... 556&sr=8-1