Turtle Gravel is smooth river pebble for the bottom of an aquatic turtle tank or the water section of a paludarium. The pebbles were rounded by moving water rather than crushed, so there are no sharp edges for a turtle that spends its day foraging along the bottom, and the mixed colour and pattern reads as a riverbed rather than as aquarium gravel. It is a decorative and behavioural substrate, not filtration: waste settles down between the pebbles and has to be siphoned out, so it adds a step to your water changes rather than saving you one.
Two grades, 4.5kg each, and the choice is made on the animal rather than on looks. Exo Terra's rule is shell diameter — up to 10cm of shell takes the finer 8-10mm grade, and anything larger should be on the coarser grade so the pebbles are too big to swallow. Too fine for a big turtle risks ingestion; too coarse leaves wider gaps for waste to drop into and more work at cleaning time. The coarse grade is listed here as 10-20mm, while Exo Terra's current sheet gives 14-16mm for the same item code (PT3833), so treat 10-20mm as the supplier's wider tolerance. A Turtle Bank gives a dry basking area above it, the Moss Ball Water Clarifier handles the water chemistry, and the rest of the range is in our Exo Terra collection.
Features
- Water-rounded pebbles — no cut or crushed edges to injure a bottom-dwelling turtle.
- Two grades by shell size — 8-10mm for shells up to 10cm, the coarse grade for shells above 10cm.
- Encourages natural behaviour — Exo Terra notes it stimulates digging and foraging rather than just sitting there.
- Above or below the waterline — works in the land section of a paludarium as well as under water.
- Reusable — soak for about 15 minutes, then rinse until the water runs clear.
Specifications
Fine grade: 8-10mm (0.3-0.4"), 4.5kg, item code PT3830, for turtles with a shell diameter up to 10cm. Coarse grade: listed here as 10-20mm, 4.5kg, item code PT3833, for turtles with a shell diameter above 10cm. Shipping weight 4.63kg per bag — that is the packed weight, the contents are 4.5kg.