Constipated Sulcata

frankdsulcata

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Joined
May 29, 2023
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2
Location (City and/or State)
Webster, Fl
Hello All! I have a male sulcata, age unknown, I adopted him back in August of October of 2022. He was given to the rescue by a woman who found him walking on a beach the year prior. Anyways, he's 18lbs and very constipated. He's not eaten or pooped in a month, I took him to the vet two weeks ago, they did an xray and swabbed his face and found that he had a bacterial infection and was super constipated, literally full of poop. The only thing my vet said was "get him to poop", that was it. They sent me home with a food for him that they called Critical Care, just looks like ground up hay tbh. They said the put it on his food to get him to eat or to mash it up and force him to eat it, right. So he's still not eating, I picked up his medication for his bacterial infection last week, it's a shot every 3 days. So far he's sounding better(his hiss was gargled before, now it's sounding normal), however he still isn't pooping or eating. I soak him every other day, I put mineral oil up his butt and i've even shot some water up there. I've driven done bumpy roads, walked him in a stroller down bumpy roads, bounced him on my knee like a baby, sat him on the wash machine to shake him up(vet said to do it). I feel like i've tried everything possible to get him to poop and nothing. Before i took him to the vet i was suspecting dehydration, he hates soaking and i never see him drink, when he was soaking one day he took a huge gulp, first ime i ever saw him drink, he released A LOT of clumpy urates, however he hasnt done that since. Tonight he released a little bit of watery poop after his bath, i held his tail out and bounced him hoping it would help, this is the only poop i've seen from him in a month, so i'm happy about the little bitty progress i had this evening but im looking for more options of there is any. I also gave him a carrot soak a few weeks ago, i can't get him to eat anything so force feeding is kind of out of the question. Any advie is welcome but please be nice, i'm a first time tort owner and i'm still learning. Thanks!
 

TammyJ

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Hi and welcome. Can you post some pictures?
 

zovick

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Hello All! I have a male sulcata, age unknown, I adopted him back in August of October of 2022. He was given to the rescue by a woman who found him walking on a beach the year prior. Anyways, he's 18lbs and very constipated. He's not eaten or pooped in a month, I took him to the vet two weeks ago, they did an xray and swabbed his face and found that he had a bacterial infection and was super constipated, literally full of poop. The only thing my vet said was "get him to poop", that was it. They sent me home with a food for him that they called Critical Care, just looks like ground up hay tbh. They said the put it on his food to get him to eat or to mash it up and force him to eat it, right. So he's still not eating, I picked up his medication for his bacterial infection last week, it's a shot every 3 days. So far he's sounding better(his hiss was gargled before, now it's sounding normal), however he still isn't pooping or eating. I soak him every other day, I put mineral oil up his butt and i've even shot some water up there. I've driven done bumpy roads, walked him in a stroller down bumpy roads, bounced him on my knee like a baby, sat him on the wash machine to shake him up(vet said to do it). I feel like i've tried everything possible to get him to poop and nothing. Before i took him to the vet i was suspecting dehydration, he hates soaking and i never see him drink, when he was soaking one day he took a huge gulp, first ime i ever saw him drink, he released A LOT of clumpy urates, however he hasnt done that since. Tonight he released a little bit of watery poop after his bath, i held his tail out and bounced him hoping it would help, this is the only poop i've seen from him in a month, so i'm happy about the little bitty progress i had this evening but im looking for more options of there is any. I also gave him a carrot soak a few weeks ago, i can't get him to eat anything so force feeding is kind of out of the question. Any advie is welcome but please be nice, i'm a first time tort owner and i'm still learning. Thanks!
Try feeding the tortoise some very high water content items like tomatoes, zucchini squash, watermelon, cucumbers, and opuntia cactus pads and see if the extra moisture in them will help get him lubricated. Hopefully these items may be tempting to him and make him want to eat since they aren't part of the normal diet.

Also be aware that simply walking around in its yard can also stimulate its gut to work. I would keep soaking the tortoise in lukewarm water for 20-30 minutes DAILY as well.
 

Maro2Bear

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Glenn Dale, Maryland, USA
Agree with @zovick

You might be trying toooo hard. Get your tortoise to eat cactus pads, aloe vera pads, zucchini and other very hydrated foods. Soak daily in pretty warm water that is high enough that Tort has to swim. Do this every day.

Some pictures will really help.
 

Sarah2020

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London, UK
Hello All! I have a male sulcata, age unknown, I adopted him back in August of October of 2022. He was given to the rescue by a woman who found him walking on a beach the year prior. Anyways, he's 18lbs and very constipated. He's not eaten or pooped in a month, I took him to the vet two weeks ago, they did an xray and swabbed his face and found that he had a bacterial infection and was super constipated, literally full of poop. The only thing my vet said was "get him to poop", that was it. They sent me home with a food for him that they called Critical Care, just looks like ground up hay tbh. They said the put it on his food to get him to eat or to mash it up and force him to eat it, right. So he's still not eating, I picked up his medication for his bacterial infection last week, it's a shot every 3 days. So far he's sounding better(his hiss was gargled before, now it's sounding normal), however he still isn't pooping or eating. I soak him every other day, I put mineral oil up his butt and i've even shot some water up there. I've driven done bumpy roads, walked him in a stroller down bumpy roads, bounced him on my knee like a baby, sat him on the wash machine to shake him up(vet said to do it). I feel like i've tried everything possible to get him to poop and nothing. Before i took him to the vet i was suspecting dehydration, he hates soaking and i never see him drink, when he was soaking one day he took a huge gulp, first ime i ever saw him drink, he released A LOT of clumpy urates, however he hasnt done that since. Tonight he released a little bit of watery poop after his bath, i held his tail out and bounced him hoping it would help, this is the only poop i've seen from him in a month, so i'm happy about the little bitty progress i had this evening but im looking for more options of there is any. I also gave him a carrot soak a few weeks ago, i can't get him to eat anything so force feeding is kind of out of the question. Any advie is welcome but please be nice, i'm a first time tort owner and i'm still learning. Thanks!
I suspect he is pooing but your not finding it. Diet, heat, light, exercise are contributors to healthy living. Check your tortoise is walking using his legs sufficiently in their enclosure. Soaks are brilliant to do ensure a high sided container with shallow warm for hydration and it should wee and poo you can keep it in there for 30 mins normally something happens. Change water and container as required as it must not sit in dirty water as it will drink it! Hope you have motions soon.
 

frankdsulcata

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May 29, 2023
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Location (City and/or State)
Webster, Fl
I dont have any pictures of the xray but he was loaded up with poo. When I soak him, I do it in my bath tub, constant make sure the water is warm, keep it high enough that he has to stand up and I leave him in it for 1-2 hours at a time. He isn't eating anything, grass, hay, carrots, lettuce, collards and watermelon all offered with no success. I have some cactus in my front yard but it's too small at the moment to grab. He stays inside during the night, I have him in a dog crate with his heating pad, no poop. When I put him outside he was only walking to get shade and then he wouldnt move the rest of the day. He has an acre to roam so I normally wouldn't know if he pooped or not, however since he's not been eating i've had my eye on him constantly. The last two days he's walked more but not very far, i can walk the trail he takes and not find any poop. I'm not sure if the constipation has anything to do with the bacterial infection or not but he's had 3/6 of the shots he's supposed to have for the infection and with each shot he seems to be more active. So i'm hoping that'll help loosen things up but normally he's on the go 24/7 and he definitely hasn't been.
 

TammyJ

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Jun 21, 2016
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Jamaica
I think you need to take him to a reputable and experienced reptile vet. It really seems like he has a blockage.
 

2wgasa

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May 23, 2017
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Carlsbad, CA
Can you post pictures of his evening accommodations and the its overnight temps?
 
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