1 Year old Russian Tort, problem with dried on poo (sorry!)

[Louise C]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this forum. I've had my Russian tortoise Henry for about 5 months months now. He's doing great, active and growing but he's got a problem in that he always gets his poo stuck to his tail and this always dries on and gets stuck. I soak him about 2/3 times a week as instructed by my vet and even put a bit of olive oil on his bottom to stop sticking but it a repeat problem that won't go away and I'm worried he'll get an infection or damage his tail.

Should I be soaking him more often? My vet seemed to think this would be harmful for some reason he said no more than 2-3 times a week. Could it be his diet? His diet is mostly dandelions and other garden weeds with a bit of lambs lettuce as a treat. Is there any tips on removing the dried in dirt as this is very difficult to get off even with soaking?

Many thanks

X

 

[sibi]

What are you using a substrate? Is there any sand involved? Is there a possibility that he may be eating his substrate? I would try giving him some pure mineral oil in his food, or if you can squick some directly into his mouth. This may help his poop to come out more smoothly instead of sticky. What other foods is he eating beside weeds and grass?

 

[Louise C]

Hi Sibi, I was using special tortoise soil from the pet shop but I switched to the fake grass stuff and no change. Is the mineral oil available in most pet shops? I will look online for some if I can't get locally.
I usually just feed him the leaves of dandelions, burdoc and clover which grow in our garden but he gets some mixed lettuce and soaked pellets too. I don't give him grass, is he OK to eat this too?
Many thanks,
X

 

[johnsonnboswell]

Stop the oil on the tail since it doesn't work. Get rid of the reptile carpet and go back to a moisture holding substrate. That's important for health in any case. Make sure he has a water dish he can get into himself with fresh water available 24/7. Increase the variety in the diet. Also try offering those leaves wet either by rinsing them first or pouring a bit of water on.

 

[lismar79]

I would switch to fir bark or coconut coir for substrate. Soaking daily is fine until you see better resaults. Feeding cactus or aloe will soften the poo as well

 

[Yvonne G]

It sounds to me like what you're feeding is too wet. The feces needs to be a bit drier in order to not stick to the tail. Try adding a bit of roughage to the diet...more broad-leaf weeds.

There is nothing wrong with soaking the tortoise frequently to soften the poop in order to clean the tortoise.

But don't squirt mineral oil into the mouth without food. The oil is very soft/slick and the tortoise might breathe it into his lungs because he can't feel it in his mouth. In the UK mineral oil is called liquid paraffin.

 

[Louise C]

Thanks for all the advice. Henry has lots of water available in his cage and he does use it. Also the leaves I give him are usually wet from washing. His poos are very sticky...they stick to everything not just him. I've tried him with a few other garden plants but he turns his nose up at them.....I'll have look at garden centres etc for more variety I think eg Aloe. I have got some grass pellet substrate which I tried out before so could try this again. Thanks everyone