I am having a problem with my tortoises

[Nour sharif]

Hello! I Have two greek tortoises (i hope i am not mistaken haha!), one is about 1 year old and the other is about 3 months old. The older one is called Joya. And the little one is called Amelia. Both females!
When we first got Joya she used to be a very clean tortoise. She used to bury her own poo and be disgusted from it and stay away from it. But recently, I guess after she got constipation that one time, she isn't minding her own filth anymore. On more than one occasion she has stepped in her own poo and pee and even put her little hands in it and started basically putting her poo everywhere and i want to know how i can fix that issue since it is becoming a real problem for all of us.
On the bright side though, she RARELY does no 1 or 2 outside her box when we put her on the ground. She does no 1 only when i feed her after 5 pm.
As for Amelia, I am having problems with her poo schedule. She keeps pooping on me when we are just chilling outside the box at all times of the day. We thought at first that she is just a baby and she is scared but we have had her for a month and a half and we thought she really got used to us (enjoying scratches and rubs now) but this is still a very common problem although it has gotten a lot less than before. So anyone has any ideas about how to deal with this? She also doesn't mind stepping in her sister's poo. Yuck!!
I appreciate anyone helping me with this!! Thank you so much.

P.S. the attached file is a picture of Amelia sleeping

 

[SweetGreekTorts]

I'm no expert, but I've never experienced this problem with my Greek babies, so I'll just share what I do:

I soak all my babies in warm water every morning for 30 minutes, and 95% of the time they poop during their soak. While they are soaking I "spot clean" their enclosures to remove any crumbs of food or the occasional feces that I find.

I also give them a dish of food every morning, and it's enough that they can graze throughout the day. I remove their dishes around 3:30pm and by 4pm they are all in bed for the night. Their lights are on timers (4am-4pm) so I can take care of their soaks and breakfast before I go to work.

 

[jsheffield]

Seconded, on the soaking to promote, and control, pooping.

I soak my redfoot every day, and he always poops in the bath, which is easy to clean ... I've only seen, and cleaned, one poop in his enclosure.

Jamie

 

[Nour sharif]

I'm no expert, but I've never experienced this problem with my Greek babies, so I'll just share what I do:

I soak all my babies in warm water every morning for 30 minutes, and 95% of the time they poop during their soak. While they are soaking I "spot clean" their enclosures to remove any crumbs of food or the occasional feces that I find.

I also give them a dish of food every morning, and it's enough that they can graze throughout the day. I remove their dishes around 3:30pm and by 4pm they are all in bed for the night. Their lights are on timers (4am-4pm) so I can take care of their soaks and breakfast before I go to work.

Oh wow i did not know this!! We usually just let them roam around after their morning meal and I live by the sea in a sunny area so I don't put any lights even though I have seen a lot of people do that. Id rather they take natural sunlight. The little one Amelia doesnt like the sun very much though. I should definitely try this!! Thank you so much

 

[Nour sharif]

Seconded, on the soaking to promote, and control, pooping.

I soak my redfoot every day, and he always poops in the bath, which is easy to clean ... I've only seen, and cleaned, one poop in his enclosure.

Jamie

Thank youuu

 

[TechnoCheese]

Oh wow i did not know this!! We usually just let them roam around after their morning meal and I live by the sea in a sunny area so I don't put any lights even though I have seen a lot of people do that. Id rather they take natural sunlight. The little one Amelia doesnt like the sun very much though. I should definitely try this!! Thank you so much

Tortoises should never be allowed to roam the floor. It is much too cold, and extremely dangerous. Are you saying that you don’t have any heat lamps in their enclosures?

Are they basking in direct sunlight, or light through a window or screen?

Do they live in the same enclosure?

 

[Nour sharif]

Tortoises should never be allowed to roam the floor. It is much too cold, and extremely dangerous. Are you saying that you don’t have any heat lamps in their enclosures?

Are they basking in direct sunlight, or light through a window or screen?

Do they live in the same enclosure?

We live in a very warm country. In winter of course I won't let them. I don't force them to be out. They scratch and start making sounds and stand on their back legs wanting to get out and in a lot of incidents when we didn't let them, they fell back on their shell and couldn't go back on their belly. So we were worried. And no heat lamps, there is way too much sun here anyway and their box gets a lot of sun everyday. I prefer natural ways over artifical ones.
Yes they live in the same enclosure. We tried to separate them once because Amelia had allergies but they were both way too sad and barely moved. Now they are a happy bunch together.

 

[TechnoCheese]

We live in a very warm country. In winter of course I won't let them. I don't force them to be out. They scratch and start making sounds and stand on their back legs wanting to get out and in a lot of incidents when we didn't let them, they fell back on their shell and couldn't go back on their belly. So we were worried. And no heat lamps, there is way too much sun here anyway and their box gets a lot of sun everyday. I prefer natural ways over artifical ones.
Yes they live in the same enclosure. We tried to separate them once because Amelia had allergies but they were both way too sad and barely moved. Now they are a happy bunch together.

If they are receiving sunlight through a window, they are getting no uvb which is crucial for them to produce d3 to absorb calcium. Even if they constantly have a basking spot of 95-100 degrees from the window, if they are not regularly kept outside to bask for even short periods of time, you need a strip uvb light.

If they are being allowed to roam the floor, you need to stop. Not only is it too cold on the ground, but so, so, so, many things can and will go wrong. It doesn’t matter how closely you’re watching.

Tortoises are solitary animals. They do not get lonely, they cannot make friends, and they should never be kept in pairs, especially with the size/age difference you have. They did not miss each other, they were likely just getting used to the change of enclosure. In pairs, there is always a dominant and a submissive. Both are extremely stressed, because one is constantly being bullied, and the other can never get the submissive out of its territory. This is especially easy to happen with a size and age difference.

Tortoise bullying is mostly mental, not physical. This means that “cuddling”(crowding), “following”(chasing), sleeping in the same hide, sitting nose to nose, and just being together in general is not a sign of affection. It is one tortoise trying to push, chase, and stress the other out of its territory.

You need to separate your tortoises for good. Believe me, they will be much happier.

 

[TechnoCheese]

Please give these a read-
Greek Tortoise (Testudo graeca) Care Sheet/Overview
https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php...e-(Testudo-graeca)-Care-Sheet-Overview.87146/

Beginner Mistakes https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/Beginner-Mistakes.45180/

Just a heads up, your tortoises are too young to tell gender.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Hello. What @TechnoCheese has said is exactly and entirely true.
I know it's not fun or nice to hear these things. But with a few changes. Things for you and your tortoises will get much better. And much easier.