General Care Discussion :: basking problems... please help

[Glencoe]

ok well theyre not eating the cuttlebone i broke up. and one of them is still eating the basking thing. i cant beleive theyre this dumb and annoying. they wouldnt know theyre messing up their only place to actually dry up and get some heat?

what else can i do? are they doing this cause theyre hungry? i feed them twice a day... i cant afford to buy another one if all theyre goiing to do is keep destroying them. someone help please

[marisa]

Try soaking the cuttle bone in some water from sardines or tuna. And making the pieces small and thin will make it easier for them to break them up (they won't float as long, though).

[Glencoe]

ok thanks for the idea. i have chunks floating right now. so i have to make them paper thin? i was thinking of getting chicken wire to prevent them from eating it. not covering the whole thing, but just patches where they could eat it?

[fishandcandy]

You might want to just get a different kind of dock. Something inedible. I use a plastic shower organizer. It has suction cups to hold it to the side of the tank.

[marisa]

Not paper thin, the pieces will sink too fast. For my smaller turts I sometimes cut them between a quarter of an inch and half an inch long and about 1/8 of an inch thick. They should break fairly easily if you apply some pressure to them.

Why chicken wire (don't use it, it will rust)? Just let the pieces float in the tank.