I seen many reptiles come into the clinic that consumed loose and falling off pieces of the artificial grass utilized called astroturf and that these " turtle carpets " sort of speak are made from exactly that. Some grades of this material like anything else are longer lasting than others but they all in time fall apart. Now I don't want you to be overly concerned as this is a simple issue to correct when the time comes but I would not of used it at the start myself. I will say that my primary position was working with administering medications to the snakes and lizards who came in the clinic under Dr. Sudos direct orders in addition to house calls appointed by Dr. Sudo for continued treatment after his diagnoses. My co worker Megan, did exactly the same thing but her specialized area in the clinic was with the turtles and tortoises.
Now with the snakes and lizards that I addressed, I would say that there was about 75 to 90 cases in a 4 year span of employment that resulted from loose substrates causing blockage of air flow and nutritional intake (choking sort of speak) from astroturf and other substrate. I have also seen internal bacterial and parasitic issues arise from the the same substrate that became loose and the enclosures were not kept clean so the astroturf became a bed for these two conditions to arise resulting in consumption by the reptiles. Snakes and lizards when chasing or consuming their meals, had the loose ends sometimes stick to their prey or gets consumed upon capturing their prey.
I have seen about 5 turtles come in with similar issues that Megan herself had to address but again this was her specialized area and I did not keep track on all the turtles and tortoises that came in so apparently there was many more. Megan and I are still really close and I would be happy to call her to ask for you. Don't worry though, just know the risk is there and should be corrected to avoid this in the future as a preventative measure is all.
