Tortoise eating soil and stones!!!

[beccayauyau]

Hi everyone, i got my russian tortoise, Toto, 3 days ago! When i take her outside into the garden she loves to roam around but when she's outside in the garden, she likes to eat dried soil and little stones-is this normal? Should i stop her when she tries to eat it???

PLEASE HELP!!!
THANK YOU

 

[cemmons12]

My Sully Cooper has this very bad habit of eating stones. I try to watch him very close so I can stop him from eating little stones. I am very afraid of stones causing an impaction in his intestines. You may want to research this before letting him continue to do this. I hope some others will chime in on this problem. Good luck to you!!

 

[maggi]

my 2 female russions do this but my male doesnt,i dont know if its good or harmful for them but they do seem to pass the little stones ok,i do try to stop them though ,cant be doing them good,yet in the wild noone can stop them and they seem to survive....

 

[beccayauyau]

thanks for the advice i will keep a close eye on Toto because she always does it and i get a bit worried!!

 

[ChiKat]

My Russian is notorious for eating soil/small rocks. I try to keep the area as clear as possible and I watch him like a hawk People suggested offering more calcium (as in, maybe he thinks the little white rocks are pieces of cuttlebone ?) but that hasn't deterred him Might work for you though!

 

[Tom]

Sometimes this is caused by a calcium or mineral deficiency. I would offer cuttle bones in each enclosure and start supplementing with more calcium for a while.

A few forum members have had good success with a product called Miner-All.

They can get impacted and die from this, so take it very seriously.

 

[Torty Mom]

My big tortie Lou did this when I first got him. Yvonne told me about "Miner-all" I bought some on eBay, I used it for a few weeks and now Lou, is no longer interested in rocks or dirt. He also has a cuttlebone. The Miner-all has alot more stuff in it. I swear it works great! Now I use it about once a week. Good luck!