Feeding and Nutrition :: eating turtle shell pieces......

[mesunflower]

Okay not sure if this is normal or not but what does it mean?
My large turtle sheds his shell pieces and then hunts them down to eat them. I try to get them out before he does but is it okay when he does eat them?

Also is it normal for him to want to bite EVERYTHING and ANYTHING in the tank with him? I have to add extra tubing to all the cords so he doesnt bite through those....

How do I calm this aggressive guy down?

[ScrewZoo]

That is fine my turts eat em too sometimes.

[MoreBloodWine]

That is fine my turts eat em too sometimes.

If thats the case then why is it so bad to leave the backing on the cuttlebone when the scute are just as equally hard as the backing on cuttlebone ?

[ScrewZoo]

The backing is made of plastic. The scutes are made of turtle.

[imderanged]

The backing on cuttle bone isn't plastic.

[untsmurf]

The backing is made of plastic. The scutes are made of turtle.

It must be late because that made me chuckle for quite a while.

[MoreBloodWine]

Well my question still remains unanswered, and I gotta chuckle out of that to. The backing from what I've read is a form of a not so soft bone. Either way when anyone has a definitive answer to my question please by all means reply.

[ScrewZoo]

Well my new answer is:
The backing is "a form of a not so soft bone." The scutes are made of turtle.



Ive heard some turtle ppl on here saying their turts eat their scutes as soon as they shed them and their turtles are like a hundred bagillion years old... sooo.. it must be okay.

[megcornell]

I think the difference is that scutes are thin and they're not jagged. But that cuttlebone backing is very sharp and jagged, it could easily cut a turtle's throat or intestines if a sharp piece were swallowed. That's why I don't feed the backing at least.

[blulite]

ok so to recap on the question lol

is it ok for a turtle to eat schutes?

well i would say yes it is ok. the schutes obviously contain calcium and are actually quite pliable. so i assume there could be no harm done to your turtle by eating them. the only possible harm that i can think of is a possible choking hazzard. i say let em eat their own bits and pieces if they so wish.

just one more thing. who bites their nails????

would it not be prety much the same?????

as for cuttle bone and its backing. i see no relevence that cuttlebone has to the question.

[ScrewZoo]

Yeah but we'd have to eat a pretty large nail to compare the sizes.

[blulite]

Yeah but we'd have to eat a pretty large nail to compare the sizes.

true very very true. but im sure everyone sees the point. well hopefully.

[ScrewZoo]

Yeah i know plus turtles can eat very larger things in comparison to the things we can eat..

[mesunflower]

I bite my nails but I dont eat them so I dont see that as much as a comparison........

Now how often should these scutes come off? Seems like he is forever shedding them......does that mean he is lacking something? My other turtle doesnt seem to lose them often at all..........

[ScrewZoo]

I bite my nails but I dont eat them so I dont see that as much as a comparison........

Now how often should these scutes come off? Seems like he is forever shedding them......does that mean he is lacking something? My other turtle doesnt seem to lose them often at all..........

not that often, what temp. is your basking area?