Impaction sypmtoms??

[Ked95]

Probably over worrying... but my hatchling tortoise was brought home on tuesday night on paper as a substate and pooed twice yesterday. Last night I put her on pets at home tortoise terrain which is a mixture of topsoil sand and grit. Today she hasn't pooed at all but is very active and eating well.

What should I be looking out for in terms of impaction? Is the activeness and good appetite a sign that she's ok?

I want to add more soil in so its less sandy but couldn't get hold of any that I wasnt 100% sure was safe so havent yet.

Thanks

 

[Tom]

What species?

The pets at home substrate is no good. Sand is an impaction risk, and encouraging a tortoise to satisfy its calcium cravings by eating sandy substrate makes no sense at all.

Soil is also no good because you can't know what composted material it is made from. Could be something safe, or it could be something toxic. Not worth the risk. Its also dirty, dusty when dry, and muddy when wet. It tends to stain baby tortoises.

Best to use coco coir for little Testudo, and fine grade orchid bark for other species.

We can give you more specific tips when we know what species you've got.

Welcome to the forum!

 

[wellington]

Activity and appetite is a good sign all is good. I would try to use less sand/grit, sand causes impaction.
Soak daily if a hatchling in warm water keeping him warm the whole time and in a large enough container he can move around in. It helps to get things moving thru.

 

[Ray--Opo]

Welcome! What kind of tortise do you have?
I am sure your tort is fine but get rid of the substrate. Sand can cause impaction and grit doesn't sound good either. There are a lot of different substrates. I have a sulcata and used coco coir and cypress mulch on top. I bought the coco coir on Amazon and was buying my 100% cypress mulch at home depot. Now they sell a cypress mix with different forest products so I wouldn't use it.
On the homepage go to species and in the drop down find your species. Look at the threads for caring for your tort.
Or put substrate in the search on the homepage and see what pops up.
Pics of your tort and enclosure would be great. We may be able to give you some suggestions.

 

[Ked95]

I’ve been soaking everyday ☺️ I didn’t want the pets at home substrate but the stuff I ordered online didn’t come for whatever reason so I needed something temporary - fingers crossed it all arrives tomorrow! I’ve ordered coco coir, I would have kept her on paper but then I was scared to have the basking bulb on so it was a weigh up on what temporary measure to take. She’s a radiated tortoise, first baby I’ve had so I’m paranoid about everything! Thank you everyone I’ll get pictures up soon

 

[Ray--Opo]

I’ve been soaking everyday ☺️ I didn’t want the pets at home substrate but the stuff I ordered online didn’t come for whatever reason so I needed something temporary - fingers crossed it all arrives tomorrow! I’ve ordered coco coir, I would have kept her on paper but then I was scared to have the basking bulb on so it was a weigh up on what temporary measure to take. She’s a radiated tortoise, first baby I’ve had so I’m paranoid about everything! Thank you everyone I’ll get pictures up soon

Also watch for your tort being a poop eater. When I first got my sully. It seemed like he didn't poop much. I noticed a black ring around his mouth. Being paranoid I sent a pic to the person I bought him from thinking he had mouth rot. When he saw the pic he replied no worries you have a poop eater. So I kept a closer eye on him and removed the poop before he could eat it. He finally stopped eating it after a few weeks.

 

[Ked95]

I’ve put her on paper so at least if she does poo I might see traces of it! Not as active this morning as usual but she did have a short night as I was up till 2am working with a lamp on so she didn’t have total darkness until 2am-8am. Could that be a factor in behaviour also?

 

[Ked95]

okay she’s had a bath and is more active like usual, currently munching away on a lettuce leaf so that’s a relief! I’m definitely a worrier!