Constipated Baby

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DeBo's Mom

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Hello my name is Candace and I just received a baby Sulcata for Christmas. He is a 4 mth old hatchling. This is my first tortoise and I'm worried about him. He has not had a bowel movement since I bought him. I have his habitat set up so that he has two specific climates. One cool end that I keep at 75 F, and a basking lamp that creates a 90 F atmosphere. He stays close to the basking area and sleeps most of the day and night. He wakes up to get food and then goes back to sleep.
I soak him every other day in warm water, but so far he has not pooed. I'm starting to worry because today will be one week since I got him and there's no telling how long he has been constipated. I am feeding him the food that the reptile store feeds their tortoises. The guy said that this is the same brand that the San Diego zoo uses for their sulcatas.
What should I do?? And how long before I need to take him to the vet? If it's something that can be cured at home I don't want to overreact.
Thanks.
 

Isa

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What kind of food are you feeding him? Is it like pellets. Because you can feed your little baby Sulcata spring mix, escarole, chicory, radichio...
What is the substrate in the enclosure? Is it possible that you do not see the poo because it is the same color as the substrate? Does he eat?
 

webskipper

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DeBo said:
The guy said that this is the same brand that the San Diego zoo uses for their sulcatas.

Welcome to the forum. What is the food brand?

Can you post a pic of your enclosure?

Your little dinosaur is going to leave little traces like mouse poo size. It is the same as Bird poo. Same animal. You could give him a pumpkin seed or 2 and see what happens. Other than that you may have to check his cage for droppings.

During the bath, does the water get the slightest cloudy at all?

Baby Torts and Turtles like to hide a lot.
 

Stephanie Logan

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It is also possible that your little guy is eating his own poo. A lot of tortoises do that, and it is a normal behavior. I have seen tort keepers on this forum recommend keeping him on newspaper for awhile to increase the visibility of anything he excretes.

I also think you will be advised to warm up your enclosure a bit, since he is still a baby.

Tortoises do not like change, so he may stll be adjusting to his new environment and will perk up in a week or so.:D

Good luck!
 

sammi

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You could try giving him a bit of fruit [apple or berry] to see if that helps him along.
 

Yvonne G

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Baby sulcata poo looks just like mouse droppings. What kind of substrate are you using? It might be pretty hard to see the droppings in your substrate.

While I do believe that SOME mfg'd tortoise foods are ok to feed, I think the best diet for a baby sulcata would be fresh greens. If you really do like to feed the mfg'd tortoise food, then put down a bed of greens with a glob of the soaked pellets on the greens. Spring Mix contains a nice variety.

I would soak the baby every day, and leave him in the water for at least 15 minutes. All my hatchlings poo in the soaking water. Maybe you're not leaving him in there long enough. I use a smallish bowl with tall sides so the can't get out, and I place the bowl at the edge of where the light shines down on the floor of the habitat, that way it doesn't cool off too fast.

Oh, and...

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to the forum!!
 
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Italianlnm

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Hmm, this really isn't advice, but something I did when I thought my little baby was constipated..

I bought some Organic butternut squash baby food and fed a little bit of it to him on a bed of Spring Mix.. He ate it up, and he did defecate the next day while I was soaking him.

That could be something to think about.
 

Yvonne G

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Italianlnm said:
Hmm, this really isn't advice, but something I did when I thought my little baby was constipated..

I bought some Organic butternut squash baby food and fed a little bit of it to him on a bed of Spring Mix.. He ate it up, and he did defecate the next day while I was soaking him.

That could be something to think about.

(A little off topic, but I LOVE that big brown nose in your avatar!!!)
 
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Italianlnm

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Thanks! I decided it was time to change my avatar to an actual picture I have Vs. a Sulcata off the internet that I wish I had. LoL.

Do you think butternut Squash could help that baby if it really isn't defececating(rather than eating it)?
 

Yvonne G

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Sure...squash, a piece off an aloe vera plant, a bit of fruit...all good for an occasional cleansing.
 
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Italianlnm

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That is great to know about the AV and the fruit.. I didn't know you could use Aloe Vera.
 

DeBo's Mom

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Isa said:
What kind of food are you feeding him? Is it like pellets. Because you can feed your little baby Sulcata spring mix, escarole, chicory, radichio...
What is the substrate in the enclosure? Is it possible that you do not see the poo because it is the same color as the substrate? Does he eat?

He is eating pellets that I moisten with water. I'm not sure of the brand because the pet store guy just gave me a bag with some in it. Where can I find escarole, chicory, and radichio?
The substrate is CocoSoft bedding. It is organic made from coconut husks.
He has been eating and recently during his soaking he released some white substance. It's the consistancy of poo but kind of chalky.

I could not find the brand name but I am calling the reptile store in the morning to get the brand name. I will take a pic of his enclosure and post later tonight. Thank you for your help.

Thank you

Thank you. In my research they didn't recommend feeding him fresh greens. I'm confused as to what type are good and where to get them. Do you have any suggestions?
 

Stephanie Logan

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You can find curly endive (may also be called chicory, not sure) in the produce section at your local supermarket. Whole Foods/Organic produce is best. and wash it first to remove dirt and keep it from going limp under the lights. ;)

Organic Spring Mix comes from supermarket or Walmart in large containers that will last a week or more. There is excellent variety of greens in Spring Mix, though you need to pick out the spinach because it interferes with calcium absorption.

The white substance in your torty's soak is urates and the milky white streaks are normal.

Most manufactured tortoise pellets are not very nutritious for tortoises and should be avoided or only offered as a treat once in awhile. The one exception to this rule is Mazuri, which is nutritious and very tasty to most tortoises, but greens are always the mainstay of the tortoise diet.:p

Pictures of your enclosure and info on size, substrate, hides, etc, should bring you all kinds of helpful advice on how to improve your set-up to promote better health for your little guy.:D
 

Yvonne G

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Escarole, Chickory (endive) and raddiccio are in the produce section of your grocery store. If your grocer doesn't carry them you can ask him to order you some. You can also feed your little baby turnip greens, dandelion greens and a bit of red/green leaf lettuce. The thing is, don't get keyed into feeding only one thing all the time. Feed him the dandelion until they either go bad in the fridge or he uses them all up, then buy something different and feed that until its gone or gone bad. And so on.

Most sulcata sites tell you that you MUST feed your sulcata grass and weeds or hay. And that's fine information if you have a bigger sulcata. Your little baby isn't going to eat hay or grass until he gets to be about 3 years old. In the meantime, go to the store and look around the produce section. If your store has something called Spring Mix, or a packaged lettuce that has a nice variety of different types of plants in it, then your baby will do just fine eating that.
 
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Maggie Cummings

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sammi said:
You could try giving him a bit of fruit [apple or berry] to see if that helps him along.

No fruit for a Sulcata. Their kidneys cannot process and excrete sugar like our kidneys do, so please don't feed fruit... you can make him sick that way....

maggie3fan said:
sammi said:
You could try giving him a bit of fruit [apple or berry] to see if that helps him along.

No fruit for a Sulcata. Their kidneys cannot process and excrete sugar like our kidneys do, so please don't feed fruit... you can make him sick that way....

Bob is 80 pounds and I *may* feed him a strawberry once in a while, but basically NO FRUIT!!! I would not feed him even a handful of berries. If that baby is eating he's pooping
 
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