General Care Discussion :: Turtle eating aquarium sealant

[J0NATHAN85]

So last time I was on the forum, I stated I was happy with how much I've learned from the site and how well Charlie has been doing since I adopted him 8 months ago. I just had to open my mouth and jinx myself.

For the next few weeks I've heard a pretty loud snapping noise coming from inside the tank. Initially I thought it was Charlie moving the plants around, and once I've even seen him moving a very large piece of driftwood by lifting and sliding it across the bottom of the tank. Since then, I have come to realize that the loud snapping noise is actually my turtle picking at the sealant that holds the tanks together.

Obviously this brings up several issues, his health first and foremost. Second and maybe equally as important, could he potentially chew the sealant to the point where the structural integrity of the tank could be compromised? It is a very old glass aquarium (maybe 25 years) and for so many reasons I can't have it breaking and spilling glass, water, and a turtle all over my apartment - cheers to obvious statements.

As always I would greatly appreciate any suggestions to stop him from doing this as I have no ideas. Thanks everybody.

[J0NATHAN85]

I meant "tank" not "tanks" in the 2nd paragraph. Typo

[VeipaCray]

Odds are your turtle will pass whatever silicone it's managed to ingest. Keep an eye on it's behavior otherwise and if you notice any lack of eating, no poop etc then I would take your turtle to the herp vet.

Do you have substrate or a bare bottom tank? If bare bottom then adding sand to cover the aquarium sealant would help (after you repair the tank of course). Sand won't cover all of the vertical joints but it's a good start.

[steve]

The loose silicone won't affect structural integrity of the tank, though it could cause a leak. It happened to my tank, so I resealed it.

[CactusJohn5]

I think i asked this as one of my first questions! lol -

Steve mentioned how his turtle did that too, and he eventually had to reseal because of it.

I find that they chew at the seal more when they are hungry, legitly hungry, like when i forget to feed them.

All in all i don't see any severe health risks here.

[J0NATHAN85]

Actually I do have a bare bottom tank but sand could be a good option as my turtle seems to only pick at the bottom of the tank anyway. I'll definitely give that a try. And so far no leaks, but it's good to know the tank won't fall apart on me. Thinking back, that was a bit of an irrational concern.

Thanks guys!

[Listen97]

I had the same happen to mine. Like the others I just resealed it and went with a sand substrate.