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Re: playful nips or a real problem?


[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ The Box Turtle Forum ]

Posted by PHBoxTurtle on April 10, 2003 at 19:17:38:

In Reply to: playful nips or a real problem? posted by JFeul on April 10, 2003 at 11:25:07:

Wild box turtles will eat a pieces of gravel from time to time and it causes little problem because they get plenty of exercise and the gravel passes through, but with our tank bound turtles the gravel may accumulate in the intestines and could impact the turtle. If it was me I would not use gravel that the turtle seem to have a fondness for. Use larger, smooth river rock instead. BTW, your turtle may be trying to tell you something. Make sure his diet is high in calcium and trace minerals. Tess

:My setup for my new baby eastern is about 2/3 soil and 1/3 gravel. I figured this would add some variety of surface and that the rocks would retain heat when the basking light must be shut off. Also, the gravel surrounds the water dish, which has helped in keeping gobs of muddy dirt out of it.

:This seemed to be a good idea until I noticed that little Huck would, during and after feeding, try to eat the gravel! He's probably worked up with all the tastes and smells and just goes after anything near him. Obviously, it doesn't taste quite right, and he doesn't really eat them--I'm not sure he even could, due to size--but I'm concerned that this is not healthy for his beak. Am I overreacting? Has anyone had any similar experiences? Any advice on this would be helpful.





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