. First, orally...DO NOT put mineral oil directly in his mouth. Apparently he might not feel it in his mouth and he might inhale it. What you do is take a piece of lettuce and put some mineral oil on it. Then roll it up like a cigar, and hand feed it to the tort.Wow! Won't eat cucumber? He really is being difficult, isn't he?
Do you have Mexican markets anywhere near you? You could try him with spineless opuntia cactus if you can get some. The Mexican stores label it nopales.
There is so much sugar in prunes/prune juice that I would be concerned about trying it. I think watermelon could be tried. There is sugar in that too, but not as much as prunes. Maybe someone else will think prunes are ok to try...I just think I'd try other stuff first.
I know we have members who have used mineral oil in a two-ended way
You can also give mineral oil enemas. Use a syringe without a needle! Put a small amount into the cloaca.
I've never actually done any of this. I'm going to tag 2 members...wait until one of them responds and says I have all this correct. You can try the watermelon though.
@Yvonne G
@maggie3fan
Have I got all this correct? This is a severely constipated 8 month old Hermann's.
I am concerned about the poops he was having prior to this point. Small, narrow, misshapen, to me, sounds like the possibility of a bowel obstruction. Is it time for an x-ray on this tort?
I will try the suggestions. I’m not sure about a Mexican market nearby (small town) but I’ll check if my mom might have opuntia in the garden. Thanks so much.Wow! Won't eat cucumber? He really is being difficult, isn't he?
Do you have Mexican markets anywhere near you? You could try him with spineless opuntia cactus if you can get some. The Mexican stores label it nopales.
There is so much sugar in prunes/prune juice that I would be concerned about trying it. I think watermelon could be tried. There is sugar in that too, but not as much as prunes. Maybe someone else will think prunes are ok to try...I just think I'd try other stuff first.
I know we have members who have used mineral oil in a two-ended way
You can also give mineral oil enemas. Use a syringe without a needle! Put a small amount into the cloaca.
I've never actually done any of this. I'm going to tag 2 members...wait until one of them responds and says I have all this correct. You can try the watermelon though.
@Yvonne G
@maggie3fan
Have I got all this correct? This is a severely constipated 8 month old Hermann's.
I am concerned about the poops he was having prior to this point. Small, narrow, misshapen, to me, sounds like the possibility of a bowel obstruction. Is it time for an x-ray on this tort?
Thank you. I’ll find a container and try that.
I did. He pooped better. Thank you.
The warm side is generally 90-97. For the last few days, I can’t get up over 88 despite changing to a new bulb and putting the light further down into the bin than it should be, I know it’s not supposed to go inside but it won’t get warm enough otherwise. The cool side is getting down to 61 lately, and it’s damp. He won’t stay on the warm side. His new favorite place to sleep is as far as you can go on the cool side, 59F just now. I guess I’m going to have to block him from going
So it's likely that he won't eat and can't poop due to incomplete digestion.
This reminds me of an event MANY years ago, concerning a constipated boa constrictor I once had. It was around 4-5 feet in length and was way overdue for a bowel movement - you could palpate the bolus in the lower section of the snake but it wasn't going anywhere. I bought a container of stool softener at the drug store and eased one pill down his throat. Then I loaded a 50cc syringe with warm mineral oil and fitted a small section of aquarium tubing on the tip. This tubing I carefully inserted in the snake's vent, while my not-very-keen-to-help wife held the snake's head, and I slowly pushed the oil into the snake. After a little massaging of the lower portion of the snake to work the oil into the unmoving turd, I placed the fairly agitated snake back into his cage to await results. By the next morning there was oily brown goo ALL over the cage and the problem was solved. I hollered: "Clean up on aisle 5!" but nobody came to help scrub the cage...Wow! Won't eat cucumber? He really is being difficult, isn't he?
Do you have Mexican markets anywhere near you? You could try him with spineless opuntia cactus if you can get some. The Mexican stores label it nopales.
There is so much sugar in prunes/prune juice that I would be concerned about trying it. I think watermelon could be tried. There is sugar in that too, but not as much as prunes. Maybe someone else will think prunes are ok to try...I just think I'd try other stuff first.
I know we have members who have used mineral oil in a two-ended way
You can also give mineral oil enemas. Use a syringe without a needle! Put a small amount into the cloaca.
I've never actually done any of this. I'm going to tag 2 members...wait until one of them responds and says I have all this correct. You can try the watermelon though.
@Yvonne G
@maggie3fan
Have I got all this correct? This is a severely constipated 8 month old Hermann's.
I am concerned about the poops he was having prior to this point. Small, narrow, misshapen, to me, sounds like the possibility of a bowel obstruction. Is it time for an x-ray on this tort?
Thank you so much. I’ll go try the water and lettuce now. I gave the mineral oil on order gor pickup but I’ll have to find a syringe. Not sure I’m equipped for that. Was going try some on lettuce.
50 cc's is a lot maybe he meant 50mgOh dear...you are a very brave man! Had the oil had an immediate effect, let's just say that you would not be here to tell the tale!
Did you really give him 50 cc's?
Yep. 50cc. I was convinced if a little was good, a lot would be...more effective. (Plus, I was absolutely sure I would not be able to trick my wife into securing the snake's head for a 2nd attempt.) It was amazing how the resultant mixture had been smeared all over the snake and just about every square inch of the tank.Oh dear...you are a very brave man! Had the oil had an immediate effect, let's just say that you would not be here to tell the tale!
Did you really give him 50 cc's?
Not amazing, gross and icky.
tortoiseforum.org
Hi, not late! I’m trying to keep the day temps 90-95. Lately, the temp won’t get over 88 for some strange reason, night lately 59 instead of 65. He seems to enjoy 91-92 best. I’ve even changed the bulb. I’ve been soaking Matteo for an hour and coaxing him to eat some aloe lately. He pooped almost normal volume yesterday except misshapen, and then just now he pooped almost like usual. Not quite the same volume, but close. Yay!
