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When I got my turtles a couple months ago the guy at the store sold me Hagen gravel for the bottom of the tank. The type you typically see at the bottom of a fish tank. It's the smaller size about 6-7mm in diameter. I dont think my turts could get one in their mouth and swallow it yet but when they get bigger i bet it will be a problem. Do turtles typically try to eat gravel? I havent seen mine try to but all this talk of impaction on this forum scares me. Should i ditch the gravel and get larger stones...


My gravel was green colored and I noticed the dye slowly coming off the stuff. Im so pissed...

In captivity, being in a confined space, turtles will try to eat just about anything, and gravel is a good candidate for an attempted snack. I'd take it out and either use nothing or get some larger smooth river rocks (you don't need to cover the whole bottom--just have enough to give them something to look at and push around). Gravel also traps debris and odors, making cleaning more frequent and more tedious.

Yes, I'd get rid of the gravel. No need to take the risk of them eating it. Turtles will eat most anything in their tank or at least try to.. so .. .better safe than sorry. I'd think the larger rocks would be much less expensive than a vet visit because of impaction