General Care Discussion :: RES attacking silicone tank lining - how to make him stop?

[swimlib]

I have a 6 inch RES named Bitey and he lives in a 135 gallon tank. I feed him once a day, and alternate between pellets and vegetables (romain lettuce or spinach usually). He also gets turtle treats maybe once a week.

Just recently he has started attacking the silicone lining of the tank - he'll get as big a bite into it as he can and then pull back. He eventually lets go and goes flying back a little, and the silicone makes a loud snapping noise. I'm partly worried that he'll eventually tear up the lining and make the tank leak, and I'm unsure if this is normal RES behavior or indicative of something missing in his diet.

He isn't displaying any other odd behavior (has a good appetite, basks regularly, swims around the tank, etc.).

[Chrisbarnett]

Hmm, that can be a sign of wanting cuttlebone.

Get him a cuttlebone from the bird section of a pet store and peel the hard backing off. Then just snap it in a few pieces and throw a chunk in there.

[swimlib]

Hmm, that can be a sign of wanting cuttlebone.

Get him a cuttlebone from the bird section of a pet store and peel the hard backing off. Then just snap it in a few pieces and throw a chunk in there.

Is that similar to those "Turtle Bones" they sell? Bitey has had those before and he loves them (though now that I think about it, he hasn't had any in a few months now).

[Chrisbarnett]

Yes it is the same thing. Get him more turtlebone, or more cuttlebone, either one, it should help with the behavior.

[Nettle]

He could be bored. Do you have an aerator or something fun for him to do?

[swimlib]

He has a bubble stone that he loves to play with, but I was wondering what else I could put in for him to play with.

[Chrisbarnett]

You can put a ping-pong ball in there for him to push around.

You can also add something like 1 large river rock, I think Bulldog's turtle likes to Flutter at his rock.

[swimlib]

Ok so I added the turtle bone last night and he has ignored it for the most part and continued attacking the silicon. I'm not sure if he is eating it but pieces are missing. He has a lot of toys, but seems to be fixating on two seams in the tank.

Is there anything anyone else can think of to stop this behavior?

[crackerlady2007]

You could get some kind of a cube plastic box big enough for him to go in and silicone the inside seams so he could go after something not so destructive.

[Lantic]

How often can a RES eat Turtlebone?

[sliderz_rock]

My turtle sometimes attacks his filter. But the worst he can do to it is knock it over slightly. Sometimes, though, it does get annoying to keep having to put the filter back the right way. I'm thinking of getting him another filter that he can't play with, in case it hurts him.

[spaceapple]

How often can a RES eat Turtlebone?

They can pretty much eat as much as they want to. Normally they'll only eat as much calcium as they need.

[xfueledbykatie]

my turtle did the same thing for a while!

he stopped.
but i was scared he'd cause a leak D:

[geekyturtle]

Nobody's mentioned it yet, but spinach isn't all that healthy for turtles. It's even on the 'not recommended' list on this website.

http://www.redearslider.com/plants.html

[xfueledbykatie]

wait..what does spinnach have to do with anything?