Is my tortoise okay

[nellydog]

My tortoise( russian tortoise around 10 years old) was soaking this morning and pooped it was a normal poop a little loose but had no worries then I changed the water out and she pooped again it was very loose is she okay she hasnt been acting any different

 

[Bee62]

What have you fed the days before the loose poop ? Some food causes watery poop.
Have you dewormed your tortoise the last year ? Sometimes worms can cause loose poop.

 

[nellydog]

What have you fed the days before the loose poop ? Some food causes watery poop.
Have you dewormed your tortoise the last year ? Sometimes worms can cause loose poop.

I adopted her and we werent exactly prepared for a tortoise but her situation wasnt good (adopted in september from my cousin) in prevois days shes been fed romaine lettuce and springmix, nothing different then what shes had and I was totally unaware of worming a tortoise so how do you it and ill do it

 

[Kelly.324]

Have a good read of the care sheets on here to get started with your new addition, they’re really helpful
My tortoise had pinworms when I got him, I took him to the vets to test for worms and have a general health check up and for a course of worming treatment. I know that many members on here send a faecal sample off to companies online for testing and then administer the worm treatment themselves but as I was all new to this I preferred to use the vet, if you do to just make sure it’s a reptile vet.
The vet and members on here also advised to disinfect everything in the enclosure (with reptile safe disinfect) and keep it on newspaper so it could be changed each day. And also I bathed mine twice a day. Hope that’s helpful

 

[Tom]

in prevois days shes been fed romaine lettuce and springmix, nothing different then what she's had...

These are not good tortoise foods. They lack fiber, have a low calcium to phosphorous ratio and they lack calcium. The lack of fiber can contribute to loose stools. If you must use grocery store foods, favor endive and escarole as your main staples, and then use lots of other for variety in smaller amounts. You also need to amend the grocery store greens with something to add fiber. Blended grass hay, fresh grass or ZooMed grassland tortoise chow can all help with this, even though Russians are not grass eaters. They still need a high fiber diet. As spring arrives and your weeds and leaves come back, try to learn which ones are good and feed a more "natural" weedy diet. Russians are broadleaf weed eaters. It may take some time to introduce these better foods since your tortoise is used to eating the equivalent of junk food. Here are some suggestions:
Mulberry leaves
Grape vine leaves
Hibiscus leaves
African hibiscus leaves
Blue hibiscus leaves
Rose of Sharon leaves
Rose leaves
Geraniums
Gazanias
Lavatera
Pansies
Petunias
Hostas
Honeysuckle
Cape honeysuckle
Leaves and blooms from any squash plant, like pumpkin, cucumber, summer squash, etc...
Young spineless opuntia cactus pads

Weeds:
There are soooooooo many...
Dandelion
Mallow
Filaree
Smooth Sow thistle
Prickly Sow thistle
Milk thistle
Goat head weed
Cats ear
Nettles
Trefoil
Wild onion
Wild mustard
Wild Garlic
Clovers
Broadleaf plantain
Narrow leaf plantain
Chick weed
Hawksbit
Hensbit
Hawksbeard

Other good stuff:
"Testudo Seed Mix" from http://www.tortoisesupply.com/SeedMixes
Pasture mixes or other seeds from http://www.groworganic.com/seeds.html
Homegrown alfalfa
Mazuri Tortoise Chow
ZooMed Grassland Tortoise Food

 

[nellydog]

Have a good read of the care sheets on here to get started with your new addition, they’re really helpful
My tortoise had pinworms when I got him, I took him to the vets to test for worms and have a general health check up and for a course of worming treatment. I know that many members on here send a faecal sample off to companies online for testing and then administer the worm treatment themselves but as I was all new to this I preferred to use the vet, if you do to just make sure it’s a reptile vet.
The vet and members on here also advised to disinfect everything in the enclosure (with reptile safe disinfect) and keep it on newspaper so it could be changed each day. And also I bathed mine twice a day. Hope that’s helpful

Do you think I should wait to see if her next poop is loose her previous poop in her inclosure looked a little loose but before there was no loose poops

 

[nellydog]

These are not good tortoise foods. They lack fiber, have a low calcium to phosphorous ratio and they lack calcium. The lack of fiber can contribute to loose stools. If you must use grocery store foods, favor endive and escarole as your main staples, and then use lots of other for variety in smaller amounts. You also need to amend the grocery store greens with something to add fiber. Blended grass hay, fresh grass or ZooMed grassland tortoise chow can all help with this, even though Russians are not grass eaters. They still need a high fiber diet. As spring arrives and your weeds and leaves come back, try to learn which ones are good and feed a more "natural" weedy diet. Russians are broadleaf weed eaters. It may take some time to introduce these better foods since your tortoise is used to eating the equivalent of junk food. Here are some suggestions:
Mulberry leaves
Grape vine leaves
Hibiscus leaves
African hibiscus leaves
Blue hibiscus leaves
Rose of Sharon leaves
Rose leaves
Geraniums
Gazanias
Lavatera
Pansies
Petunias
Hostas
Honeysuckle
Cape honeysuckle
Leaves and blooms from any squash plant, like pumpkin, cucumber, summer squash, etc...
Young spineless opuntia cactus pads

Weeds:
There are soooooooo many...
Dandelion
Mallow
Filaree
Smooth Sow thistle
Prickly Sow thistle
Milk thistle
Goat head weed
Cats ear
Nettles
Trefoil
Wild onion
Wild mustard
Wild Garlic
Clovers
Broadleaf plantain
Narrow leaf plantain
Chick weed
Hawksbit
Hensbit
Hawksbeard

Other good stuff:
"Testudo Seed Mix" from http://www.tortoisesupply.com/SeedMixes
Pasture mixes or other seeds from http://www.groworganic.com/seeds.html
Homegrown alfalfa
Mazuri Tortoise Chow
ZooMed Grassland Tortoise Food

Okay will do thanks so much for the info! I have given her timothy hay for enrichment on the cooler side of her inclosure but it doesn't seem like she even eats it. But should the high protein foods be fed everyday

 

[Tom]

Okay will do thanks so much for the info! I have given her timothy hay for enrichment on the cooler side of her inclosure but it doesn't seem like she even eats it. But should the high protein foods be fed everyday

Russians are not grass eaters. They usually won't eat fresh grass, and they certainly won't eat hay.

To use these things for them, you have to finely chop it, rehydrate it, and mix it in in small amounts with other favorites. The grass is a way to add fiber to low fiber foods like what you are feeding. Best to use high fiber foods, like what is on the list, and skip the grass.

They should not be fed high protein foods every day.