# My desert tortoise just ate Polyurethane Foam



## JohnnyB65 (Apr 4, 2015)

So my dogs chewed up one of their beds filled with Polyurethane Foam early this morning and made one heck of a mess. I cleaned it up, but I guess the wind blew a couple of small pieces into the grass.

I was still cleaning things up when I saw the tortoise out in the lawn pull up a piece of foam from in the grass and ate it before I could get to him. So now I’m worried about what to do next. Do you think it will pass through without any special treatment?


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## jaizei (Apr 4, 2015)

How big is the tortoise and how big of a piece was it?


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## newCH (Apr 4, 2015)

My guess would be to follow up that poly foam with some fiber like pumpkin ??? To help make it pass thru ? How big was the piece compared to your torts head ? Hopefully you will get good advice soon !


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## G-stars (Apr 4, 2015)

newCH said:


> My guess would be to follow up that poly foam with some fiber like pumpkin ??? To help make it pass thru ? How big was the piece compared to your torts head ? Hopefully you will get good advice soon !



Actually I would give something like laxatives. Opuntia cactus pads work great to get things moving.


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## JohnnyB65 (Apr 4, 2015)

jaizei said:


> How big is the tortoise and how big of a piece was it?


I think he is around 11 to 12 in and the piece of foam was approximately 1” or a little more. It took two gulps to get it down.

Here are some photos just prior to him eating it.


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## JohnnyB65 (Apr 4, 2015)

newCH said:


> .... How big was the piece compared to your torts head ? ....


It was so fast that I'm not sure, but it was probably about a third the size of his head.


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## JohnnyB65 (Apr 4, 2015)

G-stars said:


> ..... Opuntia cactus pads work great to get things moving.


Is this the same cactus pads that is sold in the produce department at the grocery store?


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## leigti (Apr 4, 2015)

I would soak him and feed him watery foods. Can desert tortoises eat cucumber? Also try cactus. I have heard that often these things pass right through.


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## tortdad (Apr 4, 2015)

JohnnyB65 said:


> Is this the same cactus pads that is sold in the produce department at the grocery store?


Yes. Make sure the thornes are removed and feed him as many pads as he'll eat. It's a great snack for them and also a great laxitive


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## G-stars (Apr 4, 2015)

JohnnyB65 said:


> Is this the same cactus pads that is sold in the produce department at the grocery store?



Yes, you can usually find it at Hispanic grocery stores cheap. They are good to feed 2-3x a week. Lots of calcium also. Besides tortoises love them.


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## leigti (Apr 4, 2015)

You can burn the spines off, I scrape them off with a knife myself. I've heard people say you don't have to but I feel better if the spines are gone.


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## JohnnyB65 (Apr 4, 2015)

leigti said:


> I would soak him and feed him watery foods. Can desert tortoises eat cucumber? Also try cactus. I have heard that often these things pass right through.


I’m not sure, but he has not been eating his regular tortoise food so I’ve been feeding him Zucchini and a couple of slices of apple. Today he was eating everything so I put him out in the lawn to eat grass after he ate Zucchini.

Well I know he has eaten the cactus in the past although he is not real fond of them. I think I'm going to run over to the store and buy some cactus pads.


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## ascott (Apr 5, 2015)

JohnnyB65 said:


> I’m not sure, but he has not been eating his regular tortoise food so I’ve been feeding him Zucchini and a couple of slices of apple. Today he was eating everything so I put him out in the lawn to eat grass after he ate Zucchini.
> 
> Well I know he has eaten the cactus in the past although he is not real fond of them. I think I'm going to run over to the store and buy some cactus pads.




He will likely be aok..I would offer up a really long warm water soak....soak it out of him...I would also follow up with a head of romaine lettuce...water in and food in will likely close the gap on space and force the piece on out....just what I would do anyways....


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## JohnnyB65 (Apr 5, 2015)

ascott said:


> He will likely be aok..I would offer up a really long warm water soak....soak it out of him...I would also follow up with a head of romaine lettuce...water in and food in will likely close the gap on space and force the piece on out....just what I would do anyways....


Thanks Angela, I might have to wait for the soaking because it got cold and he hasn’t been out all day. I tried to give him some cactus, but he wasn’t interested.
He’s not in his burrow because he went into my construction material storage area Saturday night and I have to move a bunch of stuff to get him out. Tomorrow is supposed to be even colder so I’ll have to get him out then and move him back to his borrow. I even tried to give him some apple this afternoon to coax him out of his hiding place, but he wouldn’t come out. I could see him watching me only he wasn’t making any effort to move and I couldn’t reach him. 
Maybe after another night out in the cold, he will be more interested in moving tomorrow, but I have a feeling I will have to start clearing things out of the way to reach him.


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## ascott (Apr 6, 2015)

JohnnyB65 said:


> Thanks Angela, I might have to wait for the soaking because it got cold and he hasn’t been out all day. I tried to give him some cactus, but he wasn’t interested.
> He’s not in his burrow because he went into my construction material storage area Saturday night and I have to move a bunch of stuff to get him out. Tomorrow is supposed to be even colder so I’ll have to get him out then and move him back to his borrow. I even tried to give him some apple this afternoon to coax him out of his hiding place, but he wouldn’t come out. I could see him watching me only he wasn’t making any effort to move and I couldn’t reach him.
> Maybe after another night out in the cold, he will be more interested in moving tomorrow, but I have a feeling I will have to start clearing things out of the way to reach him.




Ahhh dang.....it is so irritating when they sit and give you the look of....I am cold, can't warm up, gonna sit right here and you can not reach me..yes, irritating for certain....


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## JohnnyB65 (Apr 7, 2015)

My wife managed to squeeze in enough to grab him yesterday afternoon and we put him in the entrance to his burrow. The sun was close by and he went to it after a few minutes to warm up. I tried to feed him after a while of bathing in the sun, but he wasn't interested in eating and eventually went into his burrow.


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## ascott (Apr 8, 2015)

JohnnyB65 said:


> My wife managed to squeeze in enough to grab him yesterday afternoon and we put him in the entrance to his burrow. The sun was close by and he went to it after a few minutes to warm up. I tried to feed him after a while of bathing in the sun, but he wasn't interested in eating and eventually went into his burrow.



What are you trying to offer him to eat?


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## JohnnyB65 (Apr 9, 2015)

ascott said:


> What are you trying to offer him to eat?


We always have put out Zoo Med Natural Tortoise Food topped with Rep-Cal Tortoise Food which he usually eats. We also gave him a slice of apple, Zucchini slices and cactus. He hasn’t eaten anything that I know of and everything is still setting there all dried up. It’s been cold and he’s been staying inside. I haven’t been home during the days and my wife hasn’t noticed him out although she did put out some lettuce yesterday.


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## ascott (Apr 9, 2015)

JohnnyB65 said:


> We always have put out Zoo Med Natural Tortoise Food topped with Rep-Cal Tortoise Food which he usually eats. We also gave him a slice of apple, Zucchini slices and cactus. He hasn’t eaten anything that I know of and everything is still setting there all dried up. It’s been cold and he’s been staying inside. I haven’t been home during the days and my wife hasn’t noticed him out although she did put out some lettuce yesterday.




One of the guys here was the last to come up...he was out for a bit sunning over 3 days...then he went back down into his burrow....there he stayed for about 2 1/2 weeks...then he came back up yesterday and I noticed him and gave him a head of romaine to try to get some fresh water into him...he ate half of it and I had to go on to work...this morning he was out again....so they can do different things...if your guy wont eat then i would bring him to a warm water soak and if it were me i would do so partially in the sun and shade....well, that is if you can get your hands on him....


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## JohnnyB65 (Apr 10, 2015)

I'll be home tomorrow and it feels like its warming up so I'll probably try to soak him then.


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## JohnnyB65 (Apr 10, 2015)

So he did come out today and was eating pretty well according to my wife. I haven’t seen him since Sunday or Monday I think and looking forward to give him a good warm soak tomorrow. I have no way of knowing if the foam has passed through yet, but I guess the danger is over because he’s eating.


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