Herbie won't poo

[ToniMc]

Herbie was a rescue leopard unsure of age
He is active and eating
Temps in indoor enclosure - we stay in Scotland - are good
Substrate has been coco coir soil and playsand
For a coiple weeks at least I haven't seen him wee or poo
He has had daily baths for a week now

I've emptied his enclosure tonight and put news paper as a temporary measure so I can see if he goes

Advice please
Photo attached

 

[Careym13]

Pretty Leopard. I would stop using sand as a regular substrate, it can cause issues if ingested. Plain old coir is fine or you can add in some orchid bark or cypress mulch. Did you see any poop in his enclosure when you emptied it? Keep up the daily soaks, make sure the water is 85-95 degrees. What is your tort's diet like?

 

[ToniMc]

No I've been checking daily in soil n empty weekly
He eats grass Timothy hay kale romaine lettuce dandelions n weeds mostly
Is he ok on newspaper as a temp basis ?

 

[Careym13]

No I've been checking daily in soil n empty weekly
He eats grass Timothy hay kale romaine lettuce dandelions n weeds mostly
Is he ok on newspaper as a temp basis ?

It won't hurt him short term. If you do coco coir with some mulch as the top layer it would be very easy to see if a leopard that size has pooped though. It is hard to see the poop on the coir but it shows up really well on mulch or bark. Might be less stressful on him if he has normal substrate. How big is the enclosure?

 

[ToniMc]

It won't hurt him short term. If you do coco coir with some mulch as the top layer it would be very easy to see if a leopard that size has pooped though. It is hard to see the poop on the coir but it shows up really well on mulch or bark. Might be less stressful on him if he has normal substrate. How big is the enclosure?

Appx 4ftx7 ??
I have new soil to go in just don't want him hiding or eating it
How long before he should see a vet ?

 

[Careym13]

Appx 4ftx7 ??
I have new soil to go in just don't want him hiding or eating it
How long before he should see a vet ?

If he is eating the substrate he may have a mineral deficiency or something. I use stuff called Miner-all by sticky tongue farms about once a week. Haven't had a substrate eating issue since. But if he ingested a bunch of sand, that might be causing some constipation.

How long have you had this tortoise? (I saw above it was a rescue)

 

[ToniMc]

I've never seen him eat it but sometimes if he climbs on his food or water he spreads the soil

Since mid August
He's always been in at night but for first couple weeks was out durin day If weather allowed

 

[Careym13]

He may not have, just a possibility. Some people feed a little watermelon for it's high water content to torts who ingested foreign objects or aren't pooping. You could increase the soaks to twice a day for a few days as well, just to get him extra hydrated. I wouldn't wait a whole lot longer before going to the vet, though.

 

[Jodie]

Very pretty. Are you sure he is a he? Egg bound can cause issues. Cactus and cucumber are great laxative. Definitely continue long soaks in case of impacted. I would go to the vet for trays if his eating slows down much.

 

[Lyn W]

My leopard just went 2 weeks without a poop.
Only thing that's changing is his diet as dandies/weeds become harder to find so we are back on the
Florette Classic Crispy salad or similar with Readigrass.- everything else the same.
Always had daily warm soaks so well hydrated.
Towards the end of the first week I gave him some of his aloe plant,
and some grated cucumber (seems to work quicker if mushy and spread on leaves)
In the middle of the second week he had a little bit of pumpkin.
On the 15th day - last Sunday - result!
He also pooped again yesterday.
So hopefully all back to normal.
He was quite infrequent in his habits last winter but was more regular
during spring/summer so it prob is a diet issue.

 

[ToniMc]

He may not have, just a possibility. Some people feed a little watermelon for it's high water content to torts who ingested foreign objects or aren't pooping. You could increase the soaks to twice a day for a few days as well, just to get him extra hydrated. I wouldn't wait a whole lot longer before going to the vet, though.

Going to give him till Monday and make him an appointment

 

[ToniMc]

Very pretty. Are you sure he is a he? Egg bound can cause issues. Cactus and cucumber are great laxative. Definitely continue long soaks in case of impacted. I would go to the vet for trays if his eating slows down much.

He has been eatin well and normal
I was told he was a he ? How would i know for sure ?

 

[ToniMc]

My leopard just went 2 weeks without a poop.
Only thing that's changing is his diet as dandies/weeds become harder to find so we are back on the
Florette Classic Crispy salad or similar with Readigrass.- everything else the same.
Always had daily warm soaks so well hydrated.
Towards the end of the first week I gave him some of his aloe plant,
and some grated cucumber (seems to work quicker if mushy and spread on leaves)
In the middle of the second week he had a little bit of pumpkin.
On the 15th day - last Sunday - result!
He also pooped again yesterday.
So hopefully all back to normal.
He was quite infrequent in his habits last winter but was more regular
during spring/summer so it prob is a diet issue.

I will get cucumber tomorrow and pumpkin --
I don't have aloe plants do u just squeeze some on ?

 

[Lyn W]

He has been eatin well and normal
I was told he was a he ? How would i know for sure ?

Tail shape - members told me Lola is a he because his tail is long and thin
- think females are shorter and stubbier.
Also his plastron many be slightly concave - for mating purposes.

 

[Lyn W]

I will get cucumber tomorrow and pumpkin --
I don't have aloe plants do u just squeeze some on ?

No he eats the aloe leaves, but I bought mine in Ikea last year and repotted it in chemical free soil
so had to wait for any possible fertilisers etc to grow out.
(I only bought it to use for any possible constipation)
So don't just buy one and give straight away.

Maybe try the grated mushy cucumber first - on his usual food should work.
I had some pumpkin bits left after they were carved out for Hallowe'en
Not used it before so can't say for sure which worked the best.

 

[ToniMc]

Tail shape - members told me Lola is a he because his tail is long and thin
- think female are shorter an stubbier.
Also his plastron many be slightly concave - for mating purposes.

Yea he has a longer tail
I had a male Hermann and same tail on smaller scale

 

[Lyn W]

Maybe up your temps for a while.
What are you using for uvb and night heat?

 

[Lyn W]

This is my Lola's tail
Called Lola because a vet had previously told me he was a she

 

[ToniMc]

Maybe up your temps for a while.
What are you using for uvb and night heat?

He has a uv strip light a ceramic heat light and at night a heat emmiter

I had put him on a hot water bottle out of his house today to empty it don't know if that would help
He didn't stay on it tho !

Do u have any photos of ur enclosures would be nice to see others

 

[Lyn W]

He has a uv strip light a ceramic heat light and at night a heat emmiter

I had put him on a hot water bottle out of his house today to empty it don't know if that would help
He didn't stay on it tho !

Do u have any photos of ur enclosures would be nice to see others

I don't have any photos to upload as only using a 35mm camera at the mo since the camera on my
phone died.
My tort is about 11 inches long and has a whole room to himself.
The floor is covered in rubber and he has big trays of substrate, water, plants.etc
He has a humid hide - which is the lid off an enclosed cat loo (£9.99 The Range)
I use the bottom tray part as his bath for soaking
I use an arcadia mini d3 mvb at day and a CHE on a thermostat at night,
plus he also has a radiator in the room which is on 24/7. It is very cosy.