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i went to petsmart yesterday, wanting to buy plants for my turtle. which type of textured plants should i get? - the plastic or the fabric-type ones? a woman in the store said i shouldnt get the plastic ones b/c it might scratch my turtle's eyes, but can a turtle choke on the fabric-ones if he decides to bite on it?

i want to get the vine type (to create hideout) w/ the suction but the ones i saw were for the on-land reptiles' tanks.

please advise, thanks.

I use the plastic ones made for lizard tanks. They hold up very well in the water and I've never had a prob with any of the turts trying to eat it. They each tried to take a bite, realized it wasnt food and have not tried since.

I guess that depends on the turtle. Mine bites/eats anything that isn't bolted down. I have scaled down her tank to the minimum & don't put anything in there that isn't necessary. She has her basking platform, waterfall filter, heater suction cup holder, and heater. All items (except the heater) have many bite marks. For a while, I was storing the hose that I use to clean the tank in there. It also has bite marks so I took it out.

She has even broken the submersible heater before (it cracked because she pulls it off the holder & it bangs against the glass)!

Ahhh, the joys of having an Adult RES baby.......

LOL! you've got a pretty strong turtle there!

I have the silky type plants with weights on the bottom. They won't break off as easy, but they are harder to clean. My turts used to try and eat those, but they have learned. I think yours will learn with the plastic too, so I don't see as where it would matter which kind you get.

I've been using the plastic kind that go in fish tanks. Never had any problems with them. I also put real plants in to so the turtle definitely knows the difference. She devours the anacharis.

ninja_turtle wrote:LOL! you've got a pretty strong turtle there!

Hahaha, yeah, my baby kicks some major butt!!! She is very strong & when I take her out of the tank, I have to get a good grip on her with both hands so she doesn't fall. I walk her little legs off outdoors so she gets exercise, especially in sunny weather.

how big is your turtle? does she bite when she tries to escape from you? oh! a neighbor told me to put a long string on the turtle's feet whenever you let him/her walk around in the house; that way, you can always know where he/she has gone.

I use a combination of aquatic plants and fake plastic plants. Turtles can quickly tell the difference between the two (no real scent on the plastic ones)---except for yours, industrial_girl_2000. Maybe this is more than an eating issue?