General Care Discussion :: I think my turtle is eating his rock

[Simba]

Don't worry, not gravel or anything. I have a huge rock in there. I came home from work today and there was what looked like sand just piled high in the corners where the filter apperantly doesn't get to that well :p I feed him plenty (far far more than I ever should I recently learned) and there is always some cuttle bone in there for him. I really can't imagine that the sand is coming from anywhere else as he lives the stark life and theres nowhere else for it to come.

Does he need a freaking chew toy in there? I have cut down on his food since learning I was excessivly over feeding him. Could that be a possibility as to why he seems to be gnawing on it?

Granted I have never actually seen him... but as I said, I just can't see it coming from anywhere else.

[BullDog]

Are there any visible chips or breaks on the rock? If so, take the rock out.
What colour is the sand? Cuttlebone leftovers are white, and can look like sand.

[TheComputerGremlin]

I busted my turtle gnawing on the only aquarium object I had in there, this cute little gremlin, he was gnawing on his ear! I took out the thing because I have had it for a long time and didn't want him to eat it, but I think it's normal for the turtles.

You can try finding "toys" for your turtle, to keep him busy.

A few ideas are:

1.) A very large, round marble. They like to move them around.
2.) Rearranging the tank each week, it takes them some time to readjust.
3.) Ping pong balls or rubber duckies at the surface, they'll bounce them around. Just check to make sure they don't break them open.
4.) A few rosie red minnows.
5.) I drew a line on my tank with a dry erase marker, and my turtle went nuts, watched it, tried to eat it, it kept him busy for hours on end. Steve just warns to remove the line after a few hours so the turtle doesn't hurt themselves trying to eat it. But in moderation, it's pretty entertaining.
6.) Don't forget about blueberries. When they are floating on the surface, the turtles have trouble grabbing them, and chase them around like balls.

[Simba]

Just a littl update... I found out it wasn't actually the rock and she still has her dock bitting obsession. Only she must have learned that she shouldn't be doing it and only does it when the humans aren't around :p I woke up saturday to find two large chunks of the bottom of the dock at the bottom of the tank, low and behold, same color as the debris I had found. I think I should line the bottom of it with duct tape, lol.

And thank you for all those fun ideas Gremlin! I shall get lots of entertainment out of those

[TheComputerGremlin]

You can try lining it with aquarium silicon if you can get it to stop. Also, think about building a home-made basking dock. You'll need it eventually as she gets bigger anyways, and using things like plexiglass keep them from munching on it.

And bump up your cuttlebone feeding. Depending on the size of the female, they can go through a whole bone or two a week, esp. when they are getting near gravid. So be ready for eggs!

[Simba]

I always make sure theres cuttlebone in there. I should just start throwing in boxes of it at a time, lol :p I only use the dock as a ramp to get onto his bigger polycarbonate basking area. I guess he kept eating that pourousy (I cannot spell) underpart in the middle so my partner is just cutting it out right now! Lol. Teach her