Aldabra poo stinks & they do not, exactly, smell of roses themselves.

TortyDxb

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Is this the same with all tortoises? The smell of their poop is quite memorable and unique.... and I think they have an odour themselves.

Diet mostly hibiscus, hydrated well, no fruits or Mazuri- weeds.

Still love em, but .....
 

Yvonne G

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The only odor I ever noticed with mine was their urine. Maybe feed them more fiber. Find a feed store that sells orchard grass hay. Mine loved orchard grass hay. Is your tortoise's poop like a big cigar, firm and well formed?
 

TortyDxb

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yes, like a cigarillo sort of (they are small) but yes, cigar-ish. Stinks..... honestly I'd say they are eating about 90% hibiscus leaves.... they ignore almost everything else.
 

Markw84

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yes, like a cigarillo sort of (they are small) but yes, cigar-ish. Stinks..... honestly I'd say they are eating about 90% hibiscus leaves.... they ignore almost everything else.
I believe the microbes they carry in their gut has a lot to do with that. And that will change considerably with diet, fiber content, the substrate they live on, where their food comes from, etc etc. If they get used to eating a certain diet - that will shape the microbe profile considerably. If you change their diet - it will slowly change again. If you change their substrate, the water they use (ph, alkalinity) - it will change again. If you move to a different area - it will change again.

A varied diet is important to keep a wide range of good gut microbes.

Fun fact - did you know the human body contains about 22,000 genes that control our entire makeup? However, in the average body, there are a few MILLION different genes amongst the microbes living in our bodies that impact most of our bodily functions!! The balance of the types present will effect how we grow, metabolize foods, recover from stress, exercise, etc, etc, etc. So putting tortoises in areas of the world where they have not evolved that microbe balance is in itself stressful and impacts them greatly. The diet becomes extremely crucial.
 

TortyDxb

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I’m still convinced the poop smell / Aldab’s unique odor (and the poo stinks) is universal :), I think it has been mentioned before here and the keeper has forgotten.

Very interesting on the make up in such detail - illuminating. Thank you. We do a magimix thing to get them to a more varied diet but they do love that hibiscus

I’m kind of happy about that because the adult set up will end up easy if it’s grazing grasses and weeds and hibiscus basically.

Eat garlic and stink of garlic, you are what you eat.

Aldabra and the environment they have lived in is Darwinian in its ruthlessness. Cali and Florida would be huge stress reductions surely? :)


Sorry I’m ignoring the actual science behind this- the above is a bit tongue in cheek- I get it in a general sense of course- appreciate your response. If you think there’s a way to reduce the stink lmk
 

TortyDxb

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I believe the microbes they carry in their gut has a lot to do with that. And that will change considerably with diet, fiber content, the substrate they live on, where their food comes from, etc etc. If they get used to eating a certain diet - that will shape the microbe profile considerably. If you change their diet - it will slowly change again. If you change their substrate, the water they use (ph, alkalinity) - it will change again. If you move to a different area - it will change again.

A varied diet is important to keep a wide range of good gut microbes.

Fun fact - did you know the human body contains about 22,000 genes that control our entire makeup? However, in the average body, there are a few MILLION different genes amongst the microbes living in our bodies that impact most of our bodily functions!! The balance of the types present will effect how we grow, metabolize foods, recover from stress, exercise, etc, etc, etc. So putting tortoises in areas of the world where they have not evolved that microbe balance is in itself stressful and impacts them greatly. The diet becomes extremely crucial.


Actually on further reading on the forum the stink is undeniably diet related, and I will test that. Sorry if it seemed I doubted initial responses. More grasses!
 

zovick

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I’m still convinced the poop smell / Aldab’s unique odor (and the poo stinks) is universal :), I think it has been mentioned before here and the keeper has forgotten.

Very interesting on the make up in such detail - illuminating. Thank you. We do a magimix thing to get them to a more varied diet but they do love that hibiscus

I’m kind of happy about that because the adult set up will end up easy if it’s grazing grasses and weeds and hibiscus basically.

Eat garlic and stink of garlic, you are what you eat.

Aldabra and the environment they have lived in is Darwinian in its ruthlessness. Cali and Florida would be huge stress reductions surely? :)


Sorry I’m ignoring the actual science behind this- the above is a bit tongue in cheek- I get it in a general sense of course- appreciate your response. If you think there’s a way to reduce the stink lmk

You could try feeding them some Bene-Bac powder on their food once or twice a month to see if the addition of beneficial bacteria to their diet will help. Bene-Bac comes in a mammal form and a bird and reptile form. Just make sure you get the bird and reptile version. Note that it also comes as a paste, but I find the powder easier to use on smaller tortoises. I use the paste on ones large enough to eat strawberries or tomatoes from my hand. Then it is easy to put the paste on top and let them bite right into it.

Here is a link to the product: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002DGYIC/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
 

chemprentice

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My Greek tortoise has some stinky poop too. First time I smelled it, I got really close to it and took a whiff. It smelled like cow poop, and I feed him spring mix and a whole bunch of weeds. Some collard greens, bok choy, and mustard greens occasionally, but mostly weeds.
 

Bambam1989

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My Greek tortoise has some stinky poop too. First time I smelled it, I got really close to it and took a whiff. It smelled like cow poop, and I feed him spring mix and a whole bunch of weeds. Some collard greens, bok choy, and mustard greens occasionally, but mostly weeds.
I have raised many a cow and my torts poop definitely has a similar smell.. every once in a while he will have an especially STINKY poop though and the odor tends to linger well after it has been taken outside and put in the compost pile!
 

chemprentice

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I have raised many a cow and my torts poop definitely has a similar smell.. every once in a while he will have an especially STINKY poop though and the odor tends to linger well after it has been taken outside and put in the compost pile!

LOL. I'm glad mine isn't the only one!
 

JoesMum

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I have raised many a cow and my torts poop definitely has a similar smell.. every once in a while he will have an especially STINKY poop though and the odor tends to linger well after it has been taken outside and put in the compost pile!
I always thought horse manure... but I can see your point. A tort that grazes outdoors naturally is probably eating much the same stuff.
 

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