Habitat - Indoor :: Something growing inside my tank

[justin]

Hello,
I added a cool looking wooden branch to the inside of the tank about 2 months ago. Now there are little mushrooms growing on it. Is that a bad sign? Or is it good because it's replicating an outdoor environment? I'm just curious. If anyone has any ideas, let me know.
Thanks
Justin

[marisa]

Is the wood of a kind that's meant to be in wet/humid environment? If not, you may get growths of some kind (mold, for instance). Mushrooms live in humid environments...If the wood isn't water resistant, it would be better to get a kind that is.

[justin]

It's a piece of driftwood that washed ashore. I cleaned it before puting it in. I do see some mold growing on it, maybe I should take it out.

[Tenodera]

Yea, definetely take it out since your turtle may try to eat it.

[ZombieTurtle]

i agree get that wood out of the tank

[justin]

I took it out. But I must say....how on earth do turtles live in the wild without someone babysitting them all the time? Shouldn't turtles, like other species have some sort of inate sense of what it can and can't eat...including rocks? I'm surprised they live to be so old, considering they aren't the brightest creatures.

[steve]

Wild turtles live in completely different conditions than your own. They are also captive which can change behavior instincts.

[ZombieTurtle]

yeah. captivity changes the turtles inate sense.
(another reason why you should never release captive turtles into the wild, and why you should never put wild turtles into capitivity)

[N4784N R4613]

Well, just think about it. Wild turtles live in HUGE environments!! Where as captive turtles live in very SMALL environments. So, a wild turtle may pass the same piece of drift wood a few times in his entire life, where as your turtle sees it EVERY day!! The same with gravel, captive turtles get VERY bored when no one is paying any attention to them(I.E. when your not watching them), so they look for anything, and everything they can get there paws on to eat, or play with, including gravel.