Posted: Sat May 28, 2005 1:33 pm
I would think a smaller turt would have the bigger problem expelling it once eaten, therefore greater chance of impaction. A person on another site took over the care of a turtle; the previous keeper had it in a tank with gravel/pebbles. The new owner kept the turtle in a gravel-less tank and was able to count over 100 pieces that were pooped out.
I've read that turtles sometimes do eat small pebbles in the wild, and it's thought that they perhaps aid in digestion. But that's in the wild--they're on the move and don't remain in one place with gravel to snack on all the time. I'd remove it, perhaps not this second, but sooner rather than later. Try the cuttlebone if you haven't already--some think that eating gravel/pebbles is a sign the turt is looking for calcium.
Plus, like you said, it's stinky.
"You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed." -Antoine de Saint Exupery-