# How often should a baby tortoise poop?



## MzNENA (Jan 2, 2014)

Hello everyone.
Here again with another thread lol

We've had our 3 month old Ibera Greek tortoise for a little over 2 weeks now.

When he first received him, he pooped every day for the first 3 days. Since then I've only seen him poop every 2 or 3 days. He usually poops near his food dish so haven't been finding a daily poop as I used to.

About how often should a baby tortoise of this species poop? What is the norm? And when should I be concerned?

He gets daily soaks, sometimes one to two times a day. 20-30min in duration. I've never seen him poop during a soak. But he has peed afterward.
Thank you for the replies 


Btw I did find him this Monday morning (3 days ago) on his back, not sure how long he was in that vulnerable position for & he has only pooped one time 
since the incident :-/


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## mike taylor (Jan 2, 2014)

They should poo every day . What temperatures do you have in his enclosure . If he can't get his temperature up in to the 80s he will not be able to poo.


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## milkandsam (Jan 2, 2014)

Thor doesn't poop every day either... or at least not that I can find - but I do know that he sometimes cleans his own cage if I don't get it out soon enough.. like within 10 minutes. Lol! 

So I don't know what to tell you!


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## MzNENA (Jan 2, 2014)

He spends nearly his entire day near or under his basking light which is betwen 96-102 degrees.
It lowers down to 80 mid enclosure and tapers out to 68 degrees on the cool side of his enclosure which he never ventures over to >_<

Have ordered a CHE which will arrive tomorrow. Thinking of placing it on the cool side of his enclosure to better even out his temps so he can finally venture to the opposite side of his enclosure. Hope this helps with his pooping lol


Ohh goodness, they eat it?? Lol Hmm well maybe mine has eaten his own too while I'm away at work for most of the day.
He's usually a morning pooper but maybe his habits have changed :blush:
Haha


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## milkandsam (Jan 2, 2014)

Ha! Well it seems Thor is determined to change his habits just to throw me off.. When my fiance was taking care of him, he was pooping every day and eating a ton and then I come home and bam. No poop and no eat for a day. Lol.


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## MzNENA (Jan 3, 2014)

LOL it's like he noticed a change in the "force" of the house haha
Aww these shy little torties. I love them being all cute and small right now, just wish they were more active and consistant with us, not making us worry every day lol Sure it will get eaiser with passing time.

For now it's just like dealing with a newborn baby,that can't even cry when something is wrong. All guessing games lol


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## MzNENA (Jan 5, 2014)

Still no poop 
None that I have found any way. Found my tortoise flipped on his back the 30th of Dec and he's only pooped once since the incident. The day after, Monday.

Since Monday I have not seen him poop :-/ He is eating completely normal . His basking temps are 96-102 degrees. Fades to 80 mid enclosure near his food bowl and have installed a CHE at the cool end of his enclosure which keeps temps between 77-80 degrees. Temps do not drop below 75 degrees anymore

Tried soaking him longer which I've heard helps. He has never pooped during any of his prior soakings. Kept him there nearly 45min. He struggled in wanting to get out, but no poop :-/

Any suggestions on what I can do or give my tort to help him poop?? Lol


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## StarSapphire22 (Jan 6, 2014)

I was really concerned that Littlefoot wasn't pooping for a week. Then lo and behold, I lifted up a patch of moss while cleaning one day and there was about 10 poops. I found his bathroom!

If he's not showing other signs of illness, he's probably just hiding them well or recycling. Just keep doing what you're doing, and maybe make his soaks 30-40 minutes.


You could try adding some 100% canned pure pumpkin to move things along. I mash it into Mazuri.


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## MzNENA (Jan 6, 2014)

Thank you very much for your response.  Lol have learned that they like to recycle frequently, will check around his enclosure in places I don't regularly see him venture in, maybe he hides poops around there as well.

Luckily today, finally some poop!
Put him down for his morning soak as usual near his basking bulb. Saw him struggle to get out after 20min this time. I usually feel bad and want to take him out but this time I stopped myself. "No the struggle will help"

Walked away, came back 10min later & behold! Poop in the water! Lol normal consistancy although he did let out a white stringy object along with it. I hear these are urates??
Hoping thats normal. And immediately after he raced for his greens & chowed away


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## mikeh (Jan 6, 2014)

One way to know if the tort is recycling its poop is by looking at the beak, at least in lighter colored torts. Seeing a sudden dirty black beak tells me my leopard had his dessert.


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## StarSapphire22 (Jan 6, 2014)

Sounds like urates.

And yep, hard as it is, let them struggle...5-10 minutes of that usually gets mine to go. If after 15 minutes of movements he still hasn't gone, then I let him be done.

Yay for poop! Haha.


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## MzNENA (Jan 6, 2014)

Oooh their dessert :s
Lol ewwy. I wonder what it is that makes torts eat their own poo. Do they know what it is when they do it? Or do they mistake it for other food? Interesting. Will look out for that!


Lol it's just hard seeing them claw away trying to climb out, seeing them fall back in, in failure  But alas it must be done! Haha and even if no poop comes from it, at the very least they get their needed hydration


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## Nicoled (Jan 28, 2014)

So many of my questions have been answered in this thread! Haha thanks everyone. I was certain that I was traumatizing my baby by soaking him. He HATES it and tries to climb out. Thank goodness he's normal!


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