IMO its better to have the sand.. after all, thats what they would live in naturally... my first concern for my turtles, or any of my herps, is to make thier captive environment as much like thier natural one would be as i can...

i used to have the entire bottom of my tank covered in sand and my turtle did pretty much the same thing as yours... i recently decided to change it a bit to give him more swimming room and accomodate a more powerful filter.. i took the sand out of the bottom and added a lot more water.. i bought a plastic sterilite shoebox sized container and cut a little entrance in the size so he can get in it, and filled it with sand.. its perched on top of two big fake treeroots i got from petsmart, at the top of the water... for some reason, he doesnt stay in it all the time.. hes out and about most of the day but goes in the little sandbox to sleep..

i dont think there is anything that will affect his health if you dont provide sand.. but they do enjoy hiding in it and it is a part of thier natural habitat.. just my opinion...
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my pets: clown treefrogs, reed frogs, big eyed treefrogs, tiger leg monkey frogs, gray treefrogs, milk frogs, cuban treefrogs, whites tree frog, green treefrogs, squirrel treefrogs, blue webbed gliding treefrog, chameleon treefrogs?, mossy treefrogs, dusky salamanders, tiger salamander, veiled chameleon, box turtles, mud turtle, map turtle, yellowbelly slider, florida softshell, two saltwater tanks, four cats, two chinchillas, and a boyfriend.

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