Habitat - Indoor :: Renovated Tank a Problem?

[Temptationsz]

I recently bought a year old red ear slider. I've had her since September 2007. The tank at first did not have anything at all except two pieces of wood, the filter and the dock. Over the past weekend, we went to the pet store to buy things to renovate her tank.
We had bought small pebbles/rocks to put at the bottom as well as a background and a little turtle statue.

Here's the problem:
She's eating the little rocks when she gets hungry.

Is this okay for her to do so, or should I be really concerned and perhaps take out the pebbles from the bottom? I'd think that she would realize it's not food when she tries to chew it but she ends up just swallowing it in a whole.
Will this effect her? Cause problems? Or is it okay for her to do so?
I read that you are only supposed to feed your turtle every other day or every two days to prevent overfeeding. Currently we feeed her everyday, and I am scared if we start to feed her every other day now, she'll make eating the rocks a habit.

What should I do?

Much help with this is appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[octpusgirl8]

Take out the gravel right away! They can get all clogged up inside with it (called being impacted) and it can cause terrible problems. Besides taking the gravel out, you might want to feed them lots of high fiber foods (lettuce and veggies) to help them pass it all through.

[Temptationsz]

What if she does not eat the veggies? What do I do then??
Am I able to buy bigger rocks, ones she cannot eat and put them at the bottom??

[octpusgirl8]

Just watch to see if she's pooping normally, if she's not pooping then it's time to worry. It's fine to have rocks bigger than the turtle's head, but keep in mind that they're tough to keep clean if you have a lot of them.

[Temptationsz]

And if she is not pooping normally?
What do I do then.
Oh man what stress this is bringing me lol.

[octpusgirl8]

Oh don't stress out too much! Tons of people have made the gravel mistake and only a small fraction of them have had problems as a result. I'm not sure what the protocol is for a constipated turtle other than the extra fiber, i believe warm (not hot!) water soaks are part of it, but i'm sure someone more knowledgeable on this subject will come along soon. In the meantime, just monitor the pooping action, and remember that they do have a tendency to eat thier poo so keep an eye out for that.

[Vtolds]

Sounds like you just made a uneducated mistake and it will hopefully be fine just keep a close eye out for how your turt is acting. You can use much bigger rocks as long as your turt cant eat them. You could even go as far as walking to the closest river and getting some large flat stone... thats what I did when we made are first basking area.

[TheComputerGremlin]

Try a couple different types of veggies, my turtle eventually eats them reluctantly because he's run out of other food. I just discovered last night that he chomped down some salad I gave him from dinner. I hear boiled sweet potatoes are good, I know romaine lettuce is good, carrots, you could probably even give him a little corn to help pass the gravel. Cheap rock solutions can be gotten at places like Big Lots, the Dollar Store, or Walmart (I love the glass rock drops, not the normal food sized ones, but these U shaped ones).

[Temptationsz]

I had put her in a small container for the night to avoid her from eating the gravel. I also put in some lettuce for her to eat, I know she won't eat it just as yet but I hope she does.
I will change the gravel because well like you all said this was not a good idea lol. I didn't think she'd eat it!
But anyways, she had pooped in the container, so it seems like everything is okay with her. I will go later on to perhaps the Dollar store to replace the stones.
Other than that I greatly appreciate all the help you all have given me.

Thank you!

[marisa]

Use river rocks that are too large for her to eat (bigger than her head). You don't need a lot of them.

If a turtle eats gravel/pebbles in the tank, she could be looking for more calcium in the diet. Does your turtle have any cuttlebone in the tank? If not, get some, take off the hard backing and put some pieces in the tank (my turtles prefer smaller pieces, a little smaller than head-size) and let her munch on those.