Eating Rocks and posting photos

[Cathy L]

My Hermann's (8 months, 3 1/2 inches) tries to eat rocks and pebbles whenever I take him out into the backyard. It scares me because I am afraid he will choke or that the rocks will cause him to become impacted.
Also, how do I put one of those cute little photos next to my name on the forum. Explicit instructions would help.

Thanks,
Cathy

 

[yagyujubei]

Put the picture on your desktop.
Top of page, click User CP
Click change avatar
Find on desktop.
Simple...

 

[Tom]

Some torts are rock eaters. My Daisy does this. Bump up the calcium intake, offer cuttle bones indoors and out and feed him/her up a lot before putting him/her outside. I also soak daily to keep things moving along in the gut. Often I find a pile of gravel at the bottom of the soaking tub after I remove her. I always worry about this, but so far she's okay.

 

[Cathy L]

Thanks! As you can see, it worked.Meet my little one!

 

[Torty Mom]

My Daisy Lou will try to eat rocks too! I have to watch her like a hawk, so her outside enclosure is on grass, no dirt for that girl! Glad to see you got your avatar working!! Cute tortie!!

 

[tobibaby]

mine does the same also i have to watch him very carefully.. he loves to try everything in his path makes me super nervous, i always wash the yard b4 i take him out but still i miss some pebbles and he tends to find them lol

 

[Cathy L]

mine does the same also i have to watch him very carefully.. he loves to try everything in his path makes me super nervous, i always wash the yard b4 i take him out but still i miss some pebbles and he tends to find them lol

Okay, so my Hermann's (now almost a year old) is still obsessed with rocks. he sniffs around and will actually dig for them and when he finds one that is small enough he eats it! These little rocks always seem to come out in his poop and he's been doing it for awhile now, so I am not too worried about it. It's just really weird. I give him repti-vite twice a week and he has cuttlebone available all the time. My daughter's Hermann's is younger and smaller and they get the same diet but hers isn't as interested in the rocks as mine. Any ideas? Am I right not to worry too much?

 

[Yvonne G]

I have added Sticky Tongue's Miner-all to my rock-eater's diet. Every feeding I sprinkle some Miner-all on the food. This is not just calcium, it other minerals too. Something I think dirt eaters may be lacking in their diets.

 

[dmmj]

I have been told that turtles and tortoises will eat rocks to help grind things up in their stomachs like birds do, I don't know how true this is, it is something that has been floating around for a while.

 

[Cathy L]

I have added Sticky Tongue's Miner-all to my rock-eater's diet. Every feeding I sprinkle some Miner-all on the food. This is not just calcium, it other minerals too. Something I think dirt eaters may be lacking in their diets.

Does it work? Has your rock-eater stopped eating rocks?

 

[ascott]

Tortoises are well known for ingesting bite after bite of dirt and some rocks to take in minerals, these can be passed through their digestive system...the problem begins if they ingest too much sand...as sand has a tendency to remain in the gut as it is not a large heavy type particle alone...somewhat like what happens with horses with a sand gut....so while it makes us uncomfortable to watch our beloved tortoises graze on dirt and tiny rocks it is pretty normal....just not so great on the sand consumption as we all know

---

and Tom is absolutely bang on when he says keeping them hydrated is key....water will move alot of things through .......

 

[DesertGrandma]

Thanks! As you can see, it worked.Meet my little one!

cute!!

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I have a rock eater as well and it drives me nuts! When she poops there is nothing to the stool but pebbles and substrate. It falls apart when it comes out and you'd never know it was feces, it looks simply like pebbles and sticks laying there. I am going to buy some of that Miner_All product that Yvonne recommended and keep her well hydrated...AND keep my fingers crossed...

 

[Torty Mom]

Yes Miner-all works!! I SWEAR BY IT!!!! *** My opinion*** I took Yvonne's advice and bought some on eBay, because Lou WAS always trying to eat rocks and dirt and I had to watch him every second! I thought heck, why not, what do I have to lose, and I was very surprise that it worked.

Lou has not eaten 1 rock or even tried any dirt in a few months now!! Yay!!! It totally worked for us. I even give it to the babies 2x week.

Thanks Yvonne your the bestest!!!

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

Crocodilians and birds (and dinosaurs) have a gizzard or ventriculus portion of the stomach that uses rocks or pebbles to grind up their food, since they don't chew. Other reptiles, though, including turtles, have a simple stomach, so they have no need for gizzard stones:

Digestive tract of a red-footed tortoise (Chelonoidis carbonaria), SCL 16 cm
(From Stevens C. E., and Hume, I. D. 1995. Comparative Physiology of the Vertebrate Digestive System. 2nd ed. New York: Cambridge University Press.)

I agree with the above comments. Turtles probably eat pebbles for minerals when they are not getting enough in their regular diet. Growing up, I once saw my female box turtle eat a pebble, but in those days I did not sprinkle a supplement on my pets' food, nor did I provide them with a cuttle bone, so I think she was trying to get more minerals on her own. Now I provide my tortoises with plenty of calcium, and I have never seen them eat a pebble. That's good, because it probably means they don't need to.