Hello everyone I noticed that one of Cherryhead juveniles ate a big piece of cypress bark, I tried to avoid it but she swallowed it, a few minutes later she started eating more of it. Should I be concerned about impaction? Or is cypress mulch digestible? Has anyone else noticed this behavior in your torts? This is the first time I see this happening.
Impaction ?
- Thread starter Octavious22
- Start date
I've seen my hingeback hatchlings eat cypress mulch before. They lived on.
I can't answer why they eat it sometimes, or even if its natural for them to eat wood.
What's your lighting and diet like?
Any red lighting that could make mulch look enticing?
Try sticking a cuttlebone in there and maybe some miner-all supplement in case s/he is mineral hungry. Some just eat substrate to grind food or for reasons unknown.
Try sticking a cuttlebone in there and maybe some miner-all supplement in case s/he is mineral hungry. Some just eat substrate to grind food or for reasons unknown.
Yes, you absolutely should be concerned. I had a hatching that died because she ate cypress mulch. You shouldn't have it in the habitat.
Hi guys thank you for responding for lighting I use a ceramic heat emitter and a tropical uvb bulb. I did notice this behavior after I put a cuddle bone in there. I thought that maybe she got confused it ate a big chunck and it swallowed it before I could prevent it. It will keep a close eye on it smh.
No Red Bulbs [emoji2]
I haven't had mine do this but I also don't watch them 24/7 (no implying you do) because my two kids keep me pretty busy. It's possible they're doing it too. I have had mine frequently eating, or trying to eat, soil and rocks. I started giving them miner-all on their fruit (1/week) and it seemed to help a little. Hard saying...
