Posted: Fri Jun 30, 2017 9:39 pm Re: RES eating rocks
In my experience, it has nothing to do with diet. My Sheldon decided that the algae on the basking platform looked tasty and ended up eating her plastic dock, bits at a time which led to mineral oil enemas and high fiber treatments to flush them out. When I explained to the vet how I was feeding Sheldon, she said that the only thing she could think of was that the algae looked tasty. Regrettably, turtles are always looking for something to gnaw on.
Given that you still have a small turtle, I would watch for signs of melancholy and lack of appetite. That means Clarence could be constipated. The pebbles probably look like food which is why he eats them.
1 RES - A girl named Sheldon
1 feeder fish - affectionately named Fishy - RIP 5/27/12