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Do turtles really eat/mistake pebbles as food? or is this just a big fear amoung RES or any water turtle owners? i asked my friend(he works at a reptile petshop) about putting pebbles in, and he says its fine. i just wanted some re-assurance, or a discouraging word to help me make my decision on whether or not i can/should buy pebbles.

i think its fine as long as u be careful with the pebbles
i ahve small size river rocks in my tank they look great
i woulod recommend that if you r gonna put it in the tank out them in when u tank is filled.

Its nice that your friend wants to help but in this case he's wrong. Since that kind of gravel is smaller than the turtles head there is a greater chance of them eating it which can lead to impaction. If you want some kind of stone/rocks in your tank, use river rocks that are bigger than your turtles head. Its better to be safe than sorry, you could end up paying costly vet bills or losing your turtle.

I believe most turts will eat rocks, whether they're hungry and think it's food, or if they're just bored.
I suppose it's really the turts personality that will decide it, but do you really want to take the chance of your turtle suffering and/or dieing?
Plus, it traps food and waste, instead of it getting sucked into the filter, and makes your water dirty really fast.

There have been several people here who had to get the gravel out of their tanks because the turtles were eating it. If I were you, I wouldn't want to risk the problems it can cause, especially since the gravel is not necessary for the turtle's well-being.

To look at this from a different point of view...the gravel is harder to keep clean. It is especially bad since turtles are messier than fish. The other facts mentioned are important too.

If I showed you the vet bill from Bozo's impaction, caused by two small pebbles, plus a small piece of silicone, you would clean out the bottom of your tank quick....trust me, it's just not worth the risk. Don't put any stones in there that are smaller than the turts head. Plus if you use silicone to secure plants or decorations, trim off all the excess.

i was told the same thing at the pet store... so i bought gravel originally...

but i've actually seen them trying to eat the pebbles... luckily they were too big, but usually bags of gravel come with some smaller peices in it too, so if they see them they'll eat them... and turtles like to dig through the gravel, so chances are, they'll get to them at some point