General Care Discussion :: Cutie is eating EVERYTHING

[Turtle_Friend_til_the_End]

Cutie's an RES, about 4 years old. He's aaalways trying to show off for food. Even after he's fed, he still does his act wanting to get his little tummy more filled. In the past, he used to eat his pebbles, but I went and got him some river rocks that were too large to eat so we fixed that problem. He's been fine for over a year - until LAST WEEK! I caught him devouring pieces off his floating island!! So I took it away and he's had to bask on a rock. And today, I came home to find out that he ripped a huge chunk off his glass thermometer!!!! Luckily, my boyfriend was here to remove it so that he wouldn't eat any more glass. Very scary!

So I wanted to ask you guys what you think the problem might be? Is he just bored? Or am I really underfeeding him? How much exactly do you suggest a 4 yr old RES should be fed? I know they're notorious for pimping themselves out for food so I try to watch out for that, but maybe he does need more?

I don't know what to do and I love my Cutie more than life itself so I'd really appreciate your help!

Thanks,
Anna

[Vtolds]

Must be one strong turtle to take a chunk out of glass. I would suggest getting a stealth heater which is shatter proof and impossible to break.

[Turtle_Friend_til_the_End]

Thanks for answering so quick!
He has a new, strong water heater which is made of a thick plastic so I doubt he'd be able to mess with that one. He took a chunk out of the thermometer where I check to make sure the temp is right!

Come to think of it, it does seem like he's gotten superstrong over the past several months. When we used to feed him, he would just politely snip the food out of our fingers. Now he pretty much hyperventilates when we bring it to him, starts jumping over rocks and nearly bites our fingers off when we're handfeeding him!

[SpotsMama]

When a turtle gets so excited about getting fed it's usually a sign that he's healthy. Lots of energy.

I guess you know not to leave him in the tank with anything else made of glass!

On the dock, turtles frequently try to eat their docks when they aren't getting enough calcium in their diets. Does your turtle have a cuttlebone in his tank? If not, get him one right away (you find them in the bird section of a pet store and they are very inexpensive) and see if he won't start eating it instead of his dock.

It's not healthy for him to try to eat his dock. If he keeps it up even after he gets the additional calcium, you'll have to replace it with a non-edible type of dock.

[Turtle_Friend_til_the_End]

Ooh, the calcium's a good thought. It's one of those foamy kinda ZooMed docks so that would make sense. I'll get a cuttlebone tomorrow, but the last time I had one he ate it all in one sitting. Ohh, Cutie..

[TheComputerGremlin]

You should feed him the cuttlebone in smaller portions several times a week or leave a large piece clipped to the tank wall. If it keeps him from chewing on stuff, just keep replacing it frequently. Eventually he should stop devouring it all at once and picking at it all week instead. Sounds like you've got quite a turtle on your hands!

[Holly Golightly]

LOL, my turtle does the same thing. She used to eat all the pebbles so I also switched to big river rocks and then when I got her a new basking dock, she kept taking chunks out of it. She would pull so hard that she would shoot all the way across the tank and hit her bum! I am working on a new basking dock because I don't want her to eat the whole dock. They're like babies - will put anything in their mouths when they can!

[grey goose]

Don't forget to remove the hard backing from the cuttlebone.......

[Nettle]

Hard backing? I don't think I've encountered that (or I just didn't notice it).

[megcornell]

yes, one side of the cuttlebone is so soft you can dig your nail into it. The other side needs to be peeled off, it can be sharp so you don't want to leave it on for your turtle.

[Nettle]

Oops. I never noticed it. Thanks for letting me know!