Franklin passed something. Please help!

[chandlerledray]

My tortoise franklin was in his table and my boyfriend was in the room, I was out shopping, and he told me that he heard a whining kind of sound. at first he thought it was the cat, but then he looked in the table and saw frankie, he picked him up and noticed his anus was swollen and there was something coming out of it that looked like something way bigger than he could pass. He put him in some warm water and it came out, but there was blood and he looked like he was in pain. The swelling is down now, but it is still a little red.. What could this be and will he be alright?

 

[chadk]

What could it be? Pics? Did you squish it to see if was was like bark, wood, rock, urate, etc?

 

[chandlerledray]

I have no idea what it could be, and he didn't take any pics. He was so worried and didn't really think of taking pictures. He flushed everything, but he told me there was blood and a little round thing, but it was big for him to pass. he was swollen and it came out but with pain. Im not sure wht it could be, he said it could be a calcium stone , but i have no knowledge of any of this

 

[elegans]

How big is Frankie? It may be that Frankie is a male and was everting for the first time. If this is the case he could have been trying to pseudo-copulate and was calling like they do when they breed. Young animals do not have this down to a science and will sometimes breed anything or nothing. Probably nothing to worry about. Best wishes Douglas

 

[Tom]

If something like that came out of your tortoise, why wouldn't he save it for you to see?

I wonder if Franklin had an erection. When they do it looks like they are pooping out half their guts and they often make noise when they do it too. Sometimes, when they pass urates, they will evert there reproductive organs too. Maybe this is what was going on. In effect a whole lot of stuff would be sticking out, be when he retracted his reproductive parts the hard urates might still be left behind for your boyfriend to flush.

 

[egyptiandan]

It sounds like your sulcata passed a stone. Stones form from either diet (to high in oxalic acid), dehydration or a combination of the 2.
What EXACTLY are you feeding? and how often for each thing?

Danny

 

[Shelly]

Sure "he" didn't lay an egg?

 

[tortoisenerd]

I also agree with Danny. Sounds exactly like the time my tort passed a stone. Look at the diet--do you feed a majority of foods like spinach, watercress, collard/mustard/dandelion/radish/beet greens, etc? For my tort, my conclusion was that since this was right after I got him, and I was keeping him averagely hydrated and the diet was low in oxalic acid (although I cut back even more), it was likely the diet/care before I got him, as these things take awhile to grow. I haven't had a stone in the year since. I think if you don't ever see any other symptoms/stones, I'd leave it alone. If any more symptoms/stone, an x-ray would be warranted. Daily baby bath warm soaks for a few days at this point wouldn't hurt. Best wishes. I think sometimes these things are tougher on the owners than the torts.

 

[CELLMASS]

how often does a sulcata pass poop? and what does it look like? does it look like iguana poop? (a bit off topic) but my tort hasnt pooped since i got him, its been exactly a week.

 

[tortoisenerd]

CELLMASS: You should see poop about daily (sometimes they will skip a day, and sometimes twice a day). Is the tort eating? if they aren't eating (a tort can eat a pile of food about its own size sometimes) enough, they won't poop. A different diet and surroundings can cause some constipation. If you aren't already, a soak in baby bath water up to a level where the upper and lower shell meet can help constipation and hydration. If the tort hasn't pooped in another day or two, I think a trip to the vet may be in order to rule out impaction (where something such as substrate is blocking the intestines) and other health issues. Poop is a brown or green color and can really vary based on the diet as far as color and firmness. What type of substrate do you have? Poop can hide in darker substrates, and if this is a hatchling, they have tiny poops (not for long!). Also keep in mind that torts and especially Sulcatas eat their poop. They do tend to poop when being soaked, so that may help show you that the tort is pooping. Another idea is to put the tort on newspaper until you see some signs of poop, so even if it eats it poop, you should see some skid marks. Best wishes.

 

[DonaTello's-Mom]

CELLMASS: You should see poop about daily (sometimes they will skip a day, and sometimes twice a day). Is the tort eating? if they aren't eating (a tort can eat a pile of food about its own size sometimes) enough, they won't poop. A different diet and surroundings can cause some constipation. If you aren't already, a soak in baby bath water up to a level where the upper and lower shell meet can help constipation and hydration. If the tort hasn't pooped in another day or two, I think a trip to the vet may be in order to rule out impaction (where something such as substrate is blocking the intestines) and other health issues. Poop is a brown or green color and can really vary based on the diet as far as color and firmness. What type of substrate do you have? Poop can hide in darker substrates, and if this is a hatchling, they have tiny poops (not for long!). Also keep in mind that torts and especially Sulcatas eat their poop. They do tend to poop when being soaked, so that may help show you that the tort is pooping. Another idea is to put the tort on newspaper until you see some signs of poop, so even if it eats it poop, you should see some skid marks. Best wishes.

'some skid marks'....sorry but I had to laugh.... But hey, great description!

 

[CELLMASS]

yeah maybe hes moving daily, hes on regular dirt with some small rock. however the rocks are to big to ingested. hes also not showing any abnormal signs of behavior or impaction. im keeping a close eye on him though.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Franklin needs to be taken to the vet. I would do that today if possible. I does sound like he passed a stone of some sort. What type of diet are you feeding him?