Can we talk poop? turtle poop

[terracolson]

I have a russian that i got from the pet store and his poop looks like a black blob.
Perfect quarter size round, runny poop.
Not like my box turtles, that have a thicker string.

posting a pic might be crewd but i can if need be.

 

[bettinge]

How long have you had him? What do you feed him? His poop should be a thick turd like poop! There could be several reasons for the runny poop! Diet, parasites, etc!

 

[DoctorCosmonaut]

Could always post a picture

 

[terracolson]

ok here is a pic

Does this look normal?

He is new and very spolied on lettcue. I cant get him to eat anything else...YET

 

[Yvonne G]

It might be that he has a big parasite load, or it just might be that he's getting too much grocery store food and not enough weeds (fiber). His poop should be a little formed pellet, usually a dark brown and if you break it apart you can see the strands of vegetation he's been eating.

Yvonne

 

[tortoisenerd]

If he's from a chain pet store (Petco, Petsmart, etc), he's likely wild caught (and imported), and likely has parasites. Please take him to a tortoise vet for a check up and bring the vet a poop sample from him to check for parasites. With the stress of being in a new home, the stress can bring out symptoms of parasites, and by then it could be too late or at least difficult to treat.

If he was captive bred (and more likely to be free from parasites, although not definite; I have a captive bred tort with a parasite likely due to shared housing), he would likely have been more expensive and it would have been advertised as a selling point. It's very rare to find adult captive bred torts in pet stores.

That looks like poop of a tort fed lettuces to me! It will tend to be runny, and not fibrous like Yvonne showed and what you aim for.

Over time you can introduce more "good" foods and less "bad" foods. Either add a little more every day of the good stuff while reducing the bad stuff, or chop everything up and mix it together. See what works for you both. What kind of lettuces will he eat?

Best wishes and congrats on the new addition!

 

[terracolson]

Thank you guys.

 

[dmmj]

I can always trust this site to have a lively talk about poop

 

[tortoisenerd]

You mean this isn't normal?

 

[Crazy1]

Awh, I love talking torty poo
I would have him checked out or at least take a sample of his poo in for testing since he is new to you and you got him from a pet store. Parasites or Oh whats the other one?? It's getting late, anyway these can cause runny poo. As can too much lettuce.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I have a Russian who's poop looks just like that when she gets lettuces instead of weeds/dandelions. Her's is soft like that with a slime coating over it.
Frankly my Russian and my Hermanni have the largest most disgusting poop of any of my animals. Bob's Sulcata poop is not nearly as gross as my Hermanni's...anyhow, we gave you the consensus and we appreciate the poop pictures. No topic is as good as poop...

 

[terracolson]

lol....thanks guys. I might be developing a few friends on here. this is nice.
Poop brings us all together