he is still biting the bowl.....what doi do

sarbeth77

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ok i did what u all suggested, i bought a new bowl. a bigger terra cotta bowl. i cleaned out his tank and put it in. after he checked it out and got in, the next thing he did was start biting it. he bites the boewl and pulls it a little bit. im afraid hes either going to hurt himself or bite it in the same spot and get some i his mouth and eat it. what else shouldi do? Or can it hurt him?
 

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Do you give calcium and vitamins? If not add a pinch to his food twice a week see if that helps.
Also, is the bowl the regular orangish clay saucer color or did you buy a colored one?
Chances are he won't be able to get any of it off and it would help keep his beak trimmed.
Maybe if he keeps doing it, do daily checks on the bowl to see if any is chipping off. Turn the bowl each day so he possibly won't keep biting the same area every day.
 

sarbeth77

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yes he gets vitamins and the bowl in the orange color. he even has a cuttlebone in there. i just thinkits weird that after a year he just started biting it. i do have the bowl in the same place cause there isnt room for it anywhere else butiwill turn it just to be safe. we are workingon getting a turtle table built. but the bowl thing is freaking me out and it is sooo loud and he likes to do it when im sleeping lol and with the new bowl it soundslike nails on a chalkboard.
 

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Out of curiosity, is his beak OK? Or is it uneven or a bit overgrown. Maybe he's attempting dentistry?

Is the bowl for food or water?

I suggest getting a large flat piece of rock or slate for a food plate. He can't bite that.

For water, get a terracotta plant saucer and sink it in to the substrate so the rim is level with the surface. Again, he can't bite it. Surrounding the bowl with stones will help to stop substrate being dragged into the water.
 

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Out of curiosity, is his beak OK? Or is it uneven or a bit overgrown. Maybe he's attempting dentistry?

Is the bowl for food or water?

I suggest getting a large flat piece of rock or slate for a food plate. He can't bite that.

For water, get a terracotta plant saucer and sink it in to the substrate so the rim is level with the surface. Again, he can't bite it. Surrounding the bowl with stones will help to stop substrate being dragged into the water.
I use slate.
Every big store that sells aquarium supplies will sell it by the piece or by the pound. A small one won't be expensive.
You can also use an overturned (shiny side down)single ceramic floor tile.
 

sarbeth77

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It is his water bowl, and its the orange Terra cotta one. I just replaced it. It has stones around it as well. He's got a cuttlebone I tried to put that near it t he just ignores it. He is flooding the tank worse with this bowl, and just making mud out of the substrate. His beak looks fine as far as I can tell. He let's me pet his head when I soak him so I get a good look then.
 

JoesMum

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Have you sunk the bowl right down so the lip is level with the surface? Don't give him a rim to bite on
 

sarbeth77

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And after I put the stones on the outside of the bowl, he now climbs into the water dish and bites it from that side. Apparently I have a very stubborn, thrifty and sneaky turtle. But if he is just trying to do something with his beak that's OK with me. I just want to be sure he can't hurt himself or scrape off any of the bowl and swallow it iguess, which is why I went and got the new Terra cotta saucer but that didn't seem to mek a difference. I'm just curious why this started after a year of everything being fine, and why he won't use the cuttlebone for that
 

JoesMum

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He's an odd one! Maybe it is beak maintenance?! If you can get z good close up of the beak, we can take a look. I doubt he'll do himself serious harm.

Have we looked over your enclosure?

Maybe nkw is the time to switch things round, break up sight lines and perhaps add some edible plants to distract him. A tray of living lettuce from the supermarket will be inexpensive. Just sink the tray into the substrate so he can help himself to the leaves or stomp through it.
 

sarbeth77

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The only thing I haven't tried is rearranging the tank. I haven't done it cause the only other place to put his hide is in a corner andhernlikes to climb over iy and slide down so I didn't want to block it off. I can move everything around just on opposite sides. I'm ing to make a turtle table but I can't seem to fig out what kind of wood to use. And im in the process of getting the ground ready in the backyard to plant grass and already have a pin for him for outside just no grass just rocks. No that he is bigger and almost a year and a half I am upgrading all his stuff.
 

JoesMum

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A big old bookcase with the shelves knocked out and lined with pond liner to protect it from the damp substrate makes a great tortoise table for those of us not particularly talented at DIY.

You can probably pick one up free from Freecycle or cheaply from Craig's List. :)
 

sarbeth77

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So if an old bookcase will do, would regular plywood work as long as I lined the side with pond liner? That's been what's holing up everything is everywhere I turn people say use this wood don't use the wood, I know about the pond liner and I have 4 big brother in laws that will help. I have the measurement and everything just need to know what wood is safe. And does the plywood need to be untreated?
 

JoesMum

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So if an old bookcase will do, would regular plywood work as long as I lined the side with pond liner? That's been what's holing up everything is everywhere I turn people say use this wood don't use the wood, I know about the pond liner and I have 4 big brother in laws that will help. I have the measurement and everything just need to know what wood is safe. And does the plywood need to be untreated?
Yes it would be fine, though plywood is quite flimsy and you'd need a strong frame.

Pond liner is a sort of plastic fabric and very strong. It will keep whatever it lines dry and you then don't need to worry about what the timber has been treated with.
 

sarbeth77

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That is very helpful! Thanks. And I am so sorry to mother u all with stupid ?s, but the way I look at it is I would rather ask a bunch of ?s and him be safe, but still I am sorry for the stupid ?s
 

sarbeth77

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OK thanks, he was soaking the tank( from biting the bowl) width wise. But now he is soaking the tank length wise. I'm using coconut substrate, which is what u nice people suggested. I'm just not sure why its moved length wise. Is there something else I should be doing or trying? However its raised the humidity quite a bit. Hopefully its not harming him
 

JoesMum

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As long as the temperatures are tight there shouldn't be a problem:)

Warm humidity is healthy
Cold humidity leads to respiratory infection
Dryness leads to pyramidding
 
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