General Care Discussion :: Turtle Eating Rubber on Tank Heater

[marie_09]

Hello! So as the subject line reads, my RES, Marie, has taken to chewing on the rubber on her tank heater. She also has been nibbling her dock but she has done that for the past several years with no issues. I guess what I'm curious about is if this could mean she has some kind of nutritional deficiency or if this is just a sign of boredom? I've been throwing pretty decent sized chunks of cuttle bone in her tank to give her something else to gnaw on rather than the tank equipment, and she goes absolutely nuts on it. Is there anything else I should be taking into consideration other than boredom? I do believe she has a pretty well rounded diet. She gets fresh veggies, crickets, turtle pellets, shrimp/krill (as the occasional treat only!)...

Any ideas? Thanks in advance!

[steve]

I think it's a sign of boredom but many of them will just try to bite whatever they can. I had to switch to cork bark for a basking area because my turtle would aggressively bite the previous one which was made of resin.

[marie_09]

Thanks Steve for the reply! Do you have any suggestions for things I can put into her tank to keep her a little less bored that doesn't involve food? I was thinking dropping a ping pong ball or something in there but unsure of what would be appropriate to use.

[devilduck]

How about a piece of cuttle bone or a something that makes bubbles.

[steve]

I would try something with bubbles too.