# My dogs chew the tortoise poop!



## Jim in Merced CA (Jun 10, 2016)

Two of my dogs really like to chew the pieces of tortoise poop.

Is this dangerous?

Thanks all


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## wellington (Jun 10, 2016)

The dogs should not be getting close enough to your tortoise to be chewing the poop. It's also not really healthy for your dogs. When you see poop, it should be picked up.


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## Tom (Jun 10, 2016)

Jim in Merced CA said:


> Two of my dogs really like to chew the pieces of tortoise poop.
> 
> Is this dangerous?
> 
> Thanks all



A lot of dogs do that. There is a possibility of the dogs picking up intestinal parasites if your tortoise is carrying _and_ shedding them in that particular turd. I don't think it is all that much of a risk to your dog in most cases. In all my years, I have not heard of a dog getting sick from eating tortoise poop.


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## Jim in Merced CA (Jun 10, 2016)

Thanks Tom


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## Jim in Merced CA (Jun 10, 2016)

wellington said:


> The dogs should not be getting close enough to your tortoise to be chewing the poop. It's also not really healthy for your dogs. When you see poop, it should be picked up.



Thanks for your perspective


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## Markw84 (Jun 10, 2016)

My dog also love tortoise poop. He only has access to the large Sulcata yard when I am out there too but it's a constant training ritual I am going through to have him "leave it"! He's still only 6 mos old and now pretty good at my command but still absolutely loves to chew those huge turds if he gets a chance!

I asked my vet (who is also one of my reptile vets) about the possible problem and he said he wouldn't worry at all. He said reptile parasites aren't transmissible to dogs. Reptile to mammal etc.

Since its come up here would love to get @deadheadvet opinion on that or one of our other vets on the forum


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## Markw84 (Jun 10, 2016)

wellington said:


> The dogs should not be getting close enough to your tortoise to be chewing the poop. It's also not really healthy for your dogs. When you see poop, it should be picked up.


Don't know about you, Barb, but every time I go into the tortoise yard, there is new poop! And lots! My dog goes with me as all the tortoise way outweighs him - the largest by 5 times!

Not only that - want to see your tortoises go crazy - let them find some dog poop you didn't know was there! I believe that is an important part of their diet in the wild - animal poop!


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## deadheadvet (Jun 10, 2016)

Dogs will not get tortoise parasites except some protozoans. My concern is in regard to certain bacteria that tortoises can shed. E. Coli comes to mind. I don't worry about Samonella except with aquatic turtles. My advice which I adhere to is: my dogs don't get near it. It's picked up and disposed. I hate seeing the tortoises eat it. Cryptosporidium, Giardia, Entameba, come to mind that dogs could get if they ingested contaminated feces.


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## deadheadvet (Jun 10, 2016)

I would never let a tortoise eat dog feces. With all the dogs taking Ivermectin and flea control that is excreted in the feces, good chance for tortoise death. This isn't the wild where wild animals get dewormed and shed chemicals in the feces. There are things called fences that separate reptiles from our canine companions.


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## wellington (Jun 10, 2016)

Markw84 said:


> Don't know about you, Barb, but every time I go into the tortoise yard, there is new poop! And lots! My dog goes with me as all the tortoise way outweighs him - the largest by 5 times!
> 
> Not only that - want to see your tortoises go crazy - let them find some dog poop you didn't know was there! I believe that is an important part of their diet in the wild - animal poop!


In the wild, animals are not getting medicated, that could pass through to the tortoise that is eating the poop. My dog is not allowed in the tortoise area. A dog won't die from eating tort poop, but it's not the healthiest thing to let them do either. They could get sick from it, or if your tort does have worms, etc, well now it could be passed to your dog. A tortoise could however be poisoned by eating dog poop (heartworm meds, flea meds, other types of worm meds, etc). Not a good practice and if one is watching their dog eat poop, then it should be picked up. I don't let tort or dog poop sit around.


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## Tom (Jun 10, 2016)

deadheadvet said:


> Dogs will not get tortoise parasites except some protozoans. My concern is in regard to certain bacteria that tortoises can shed. E. Coli comes to mind. I don't worry about Samonella except with aquatic turtles. My advice which I adhere to is: my dogs don't get near it. It's picked up and disposed. I hate seeing the tortoises eat it. Cryptosporidium, Giardia, Entameba, come to mind that dogs could get if they ingested contaminated feces.



What about pinworms? I've been told the eggs are small enough and light enough to be carried on the wind. We were constantly battling infestations in the chimps. Are the reptile pinworms a different species than the mammal pinworms?

As always, thank you for the knowledge.


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## deadheadvet (Jun 11, 2016)

Dogs do not get pinworms.


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## Markw84 (Jun 11, 2016)

@deadheadvet. Thank you so much for the help and info you provide here. Really appreciated!!


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## deadheadvet (Jun 11, 2016)

Just to clarify about Pinworms:
Humans get Pinworms from other Humans
Rabbits get Pinworms and give it to other rabbits
Tortoises get Pinworms and give it to other Tortoises.
Dogs and cats do not get Pinworms. So if you are taking your child to the Pediatrician and the child has Pinworms, inevitably the MD will blame the dog. MD's get about 2 weeks of Parasitology and that explains their lack of knowledge in regard to parasites. We had 2 semesters in comparison.


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## Yvonne G (Jun 11, 2016)

When I make my rounds in the a.m. Misty stays out of the Aldabran yard until I've gone in there and picked up the poop. But if I'm not near that yard, and she can't see me, she hops right in and pulls the large poops apart. I don't know how much of it she eats, but she seems to love pulling it all apart. Then, when I see what she's doing and I shout out in a very obnoxious voice, "*GA-A-C-K!!!!*" She immediately drops the poop and hops out of that yard. So she's trained to not eat tortoise poop when the human is around. I pick up Aldabran poop three or four times a day. All the other yards do just fine with a once a day treatment.

That's interesting about the pin worms. Thanks for that.


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## Jim in Merced CA (Jun 13, 2016)

Thanks for all the great feedback.


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## Jim in Merced CA (Jun 23, 2016)

By the way, to celebrate Summer, I'm going to start chewing on the tortoise poop myself.

Kind of like a plug of tobacco, but with a more unique flavor.


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## Yvonne G (Jun 23, 2016)

I repeat - *GA-A-A-A-CK!!!!!!*


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## BrianWI (Jul 1, 2016)

I don't have tort poop yet, but my dog loves him some turkey poop!


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## Pearly (Jul 2, 2016)

Jim in Merced CA said:


> By the way, to celebrate Summer, I'm going to start chewing on the tortoise poop myself.
> 
> Kind of like a plug of tobacco, but with a more unique flavor.


Yaaaaack!!!!!


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## Pearly (Jul 2, 2016)

Markw84 said:


> Don't know about you, Barb, but every time I go into the tortoise yard, there is new poop! And lots! My dog goes with me as all the tortoise way outweighs him - the largest by 5 times!
> 
> Not only that - want to see your tortoises go crazy - let them find some dog poop you didn't know was there! I believe that is an important part of their diet in the wild - animal poop!


Love the "poo topics"!!! Lots of poo comes from lots of fiber in their diet. I still don't like to think about any of my pets eating any poo at all!!! I kiss my cats and dogs....


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## RussianVT (Apr 25, 2017)

deadheadvet said:


> Just to clarify about Pinworms:
> Humans get Pinworms from other Humans
> Rabbits get Pinworms and give it to other rabbits
> Tortoises get Pinworms and give it to other Tortoises.
> Dogs and cats do not get Pinworms. So if you are taking your child to the Pediatrician and the child has Pinworms, inevitably the MD will blame the dog. MD's get about 2 weeks of Parasitology and that explains their lack of knowledge in regard to parasites. We had 2 semesters in comparison.


Can a human toddler get pinworms from a tortoise? We're trying to treat our Russian tortoise for pinworms because my husband is concerned that our daughter will contract them. I'm less concerned because we always wash hands after handling the tortoise, and lots of kids get pinworms at some point in childhood anyway. Any advice?


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## Oldbattleaxe (Apr 26, 2017)

> I asked my vet (who is also one of my reptile vets) about the possible problem and he said he wouldn't worry at all. He said reptile parasites aren't transmissible to dogs. Reptile to mammal etc.



About 12 years ago, my vet said the same thing about my sulcata and dwarf goats.


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