Eating poop?

[Cleopatra 2020]

Just curious if anyone has ever knowing their turtle or tortoise to eat their poop? I'm sure most of you have substrate and it's hard to tell however right now I've been using paper towels and can clearly see where all her poops are when I clean her enclosure everyday ... this morning I noticed what look like a stain where a poop had been about the size of a nickel and then there was a little bit off to the side about the size of a match head she didn't have any poop on the bottom of her shell and there was no poop in the enclosure so the first thing I thought was I wonder if she ate it kind of like how a dog eats their poop sometimes any advice?

 

[Blackdog1714]

Wait till they go outside and discover other animals poop!

 

[Cleopatra 2020]

Wait till they go outside and discover other animals poop!

So I guess he must have been hungry and that was her first opportunity..☹

 

[Cleopatra 2020]

HER*!!!!...lol

 

[Chubbs the tegu]

I have been told by ppl to “ eat sh*t and die”.. but ive never tried it

 

[KarenSoCal]

It's my understanding that torts eat poop because there are still nutrients in it. It makes sense, but I don't know if that is true.

I also have heard that they pee and poop in their burrows to help maintain the proper humidity. That makes sense too.

 

[KBeam]

Just curious if anyone has ever knowing their turtle or tortoise to eat their poop? I'm sure most of you have substrate and it's hard to tell however right now I've been using paper towels and can clearly see where all her poops are when I clean her enclosure everyday ... this morning I noticed what look like a stain where a poop had been about the size of a nickel and then there was a little bit off to the side about the size of a match head she didn't have any poop on the bottom of her shell and there was no poop in the enclosure so the first thing I thought was I wonder if she ate it kind of like how a dog eats their poop sometimes any advice?

I have an ornate box turtle that eats nearly all her poop. My vet at the University of Illinois told me it’s very common in terrestrial turtles. 1. they gain the extra nutrients and 2. It helps shield the presence from predators. It makes it easy to keep her cage clean, but I never kiss her on the lips! ?