ZenHerper
Well-Known Member
I have another perplexing question as I continue to observe and get to know the habits of our new friend: she approaches her food dish, and instead of stopping at the edge and nibbling at the delicacies, she always climbs right in, covering and crushing whatever berries, water soaked pellets, etc are in the dish, at the same time making it impossible to reach and eat much of it, creating a big mess! Is this normal and is there a better way?
Those wee dinosaur brains are from The Time Before Plates. lol
Totally uncivilized, but totally normal. This behavior is also a version of Food Guarding...no one else can come along and eat the goodies if you are standing on them.
Be sure to use a large, textured surface to feed with no (or minimal) sides. A large landscaping brick, or a large terra cotta saucer like you'd put under a potted plant. If a turt has to pull itself up and over a dish lip, they tend to *cowabunga!* harder, and can slip or flip over. Squoosh the platform or saucer down into the substrate so your turt can approach level to the ground...this is safer and may help her put on the brakes before clambering over everything entirely.