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why is my red ear slider eating rocks He is getting plenty of food2007-11-24 2:05:04Answers:

probably as an aid to digestion. some reptiles and most birds swallow gravel to help break up the food in their stomachs, as they cannot chew food to smaller pieces like mammals like humans can.

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to help crunch up the food it is eating.

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1. Eating a few pebbles is normal with pond turtles. If it eats too many, however, it becomes a problem.

2. Eating rocks in excess may be a sign of a few things:

a- tank needs cleaning

b- diet needs improvement

c- you are using the wrong rocks

Cleaning: There are many reasons and theories about this, but turtle tanks need a LOT of cleaning- especially on the bottom. Get rid of the gunk and many turtles stop eating the rocks.

Diet: It may be that the rocks taste better adn are more nutritious than the food you are using. Cheap turtle food, especially flakes, and foods like head lettuce have almost no real nutrition. Try a high-quality turtle pellet and supplement it with small fish, worms, etc.

Rocks: Colorful aquarium rocks trick turtles- that is not what they grow up with and they may confuse it for food items. Try pea-sized natural gravel instead.

I recommend that you review the cares and diets listed at the sites below and see if there is anything else you might be able to improve for your pet:

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he probab;y does not like the food you area giving him

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cleaning his belly out. it true they do it to remove things they cant digest when they poop the pebbles out the bad stuff come out with them

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Well,if they fit in his mouth then he will most likely eat them. I read in my turtle book that it will eat it if its bored or if it fits in his mouth.