General Care Discussion :: Turtle biting at the aquarium silicone!

[TurdyTheTurtle]

My turtle has been constantly biting and pulling on the silicone of the aquarium. I'm afraid that she is going to do some damage and I'll have a huge mess to clean up. I have wrote about this on here before, but since everyone loves turtles so much, most people said I was just complaining and that somehow I wasn't taking care of her properly. Well just to let everyone know, I have been doing EVERYTHING I can! She has everything she needs. The only thing I can think of, is that she hates being in captivity. Because of this, I have made the final decision to give her to a turtle rescue center. They assured me that she would be placed in a sanctuary where she can swim in a large pond with other turtles.
Has anyone had the silicone biting problem I've described?

[Melvira_Fox]

Hmm. Not the silicone, but one of our turtles attacked her heater after we first put it in with her. After about two days she stopped.

How long has this problem going on and what's her setup like?

[untsmurf]

Are you providing her with cuttlebone? She might be biting the silicone due to low calcium.

[tidaboy9]

Are you providing her with cuttlebone? She might be biting the silicone due to low calcium.

Does the zoo med turtle bone work?? And the Tetra ReptoGuard??

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752319


http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752636

My turtle always beg for food when i come close by and bites alot of things and eat the Whole Anacharis in 1 week! Sry if i directed TurdyTheTurtle problem to mine!~ I feed it 3 pellets of Tetra food

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752340

[Melvira_Fox]

Get a cuttlebone and do this:


http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=18320

[TurdyTheTurtle]

Hi everyone, thank you for your replies! I do give her the zoo med cuttlebone cut into pieces with the backing removed. I give her a 1x1" piece every week. Her tank is a 65g tall aquarium, Fluval 405 filter, water always at 75 - 80 (due to fluctuating ambient temp). She eats Reptomin pellets, about a heads worth most days, some days she eats carrot sticks, romaine lettuce, and once a month strawberries, grapes, or banana. I take her outside sometimes, she walks around the floor inside sometimes. I'm not sure what other info to give. It is just very stressful for me to see her stressed out all the time.

[Turtle Mummy 101]

TurdyTheTurtle: I had the same problem with Charlotte, who is a very destructive turtle! I was doing everything right and still she seemed bored. I even change everything in her tank around once in awhile to keep her interested. It's frusturating, I know.

However, I found that giving her tank mates (as in fish) really works. She used to be a real pig and eat everything in the tank but she's seemed to learn to regulate her eating habits and only eats minnows once in awhile. Right now I have Rosy Red minnows, some different types of snails, a Cichlid, and some Zebra Danios. Although she dosen't eat them she enjoys chasing them around the tank - it really seems to keep her busy.

Hope this helps!

[steve]

I think some RES are just very bitey. Mine have chewed on the silicone before, though there should be enough in between the glass that it won't leak. However, you might have to reseal soon depending on how good your turtle is at getting to it.