Pet Turtle : Gravel

Gravel like the one you find in fish tanks provides a pleasant looking floor to the tank - but it is a strict NO-NO for your turtle habitat, because:
� turtles have been known to eat small stones/pebbles, and this can lead to fatal blockage in their
digestive systems
� turtles generate solid waste in much larger quantities than fishes, and this waste gets accumulated
under the gravel.

To clean your tank you would need to take out your gravel every 10 days and clean it thoroughly (boil it in bleach and rinse). The entire process is extremely time-consuming and unsettling for the turtle too.

We suggest you avoid putting fine gravel stones along the bottom of the tank, and instead stick to a few large (greater than 1.5 - 2cms in diameter) and dispersed stone/shell arrangements. Try creating 2-4 arrangements using different colors and textures of stones/shells to provide variety in the tank. The benefit of large stones/shells is that they can be easily extracted and scrubbed clean.

If you still want to have an opaque tank floor, stick colored paper outside the bottom glass of the tank. Another option is to lay a piece of green/black plastic mesh (the ones put in windows to prevent insects and mosquitoes from entering the house during summers/monsoons). This mesh needs to cover the entire base and should be held down firmly with rocks, so that the turtles can't slide underneath them and get stuck!

If you want, you can introduce some gravel in the land area of the tank, but remember not to use any stone less than 1cm in diameter, and to clean it often.

Maintenance
Gravel should be cleaned every 7-10 days. The gravel should be collected from the tank, cleaned and returned to the tank only after the water has also been changed and not before. Gravel should not be subjected to strong detergents, acids or other cleaning ingredients, as it tends to absorb these. It could release these chemicals into the tank water later, polluting it.

The best way to clean gravel is to rinse it thoroughly under high-pressure water stream. Its recommended that you keep moving the gravel while it is being rinsed so that all pieces can be subjected to the water spray. Alternatively, you can swish with a stick in a bucket creating a whirlpool.

If you notice any green growth on the gravel, it requires a thorough cleaning. If you maintain your tank well, this would be required only once in 3-4 months. To clean your gravel, add commercially available bleaching powder to water and soak you gravel in it for atleast 45-60 minutes. This bleaching powder costs less than INR 10 for 100 GMS and will be easily available with your local grocery shop. Add 1 tablespoon of bleaching powder for every liter of water. After the soak, put the gravel into boiling water and boil for 15 minutes. Let it cool, then rinse it under a high-pressure water stream and let it soak in clean water for an hour, before putting it back into the tank.

Gravel is easily (and cheaply) available with pet stores, so avoid picking up anything from the roadside. But if you pick up any from the roadside sterilize it before you put it into the tank.