Movement frequency

[Nasbennians]

Hello!

We have a young Hermanns tortoise named River. How often should we expect her to have bowel movements? We think she recently went from 2 or more per week to maybe less than once per week. She is still eating lots of greens but we took her off of carrots perhaps around the same time as the change.

Thanks!

N + R + River.

 

[tortoise007]

what else do you feed her? Mine usually poo about every day, but I don't really check

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Oh and welcome to TFO!!!

 

[abclements]

Welcome! Torts are poo eaters... especially when they're young... it helps keep the bacteria in their digestive system strong and healthy. I know that I don't find a lot of poo in my Red Foots enclosure and I toss it up to him eating it. Kinda gross, I know! But that's just how it is lol

 

[Nasbennians]

Right now she is on a rotation of mostly dandelion leaves and kale with calcium and a touch of ground Timothy hay for fibre. She has also had parsley, endive, escarole, and we took her off of the carrot because we thought it might have too much sugar.

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Also, how often should we see the white uric acid?

 

[Andrea M]

My hatchling Hermann only generally poops once a week, I questioned this on here too, however, it is usually a HUGE poop!

 

[Yvonne G]

It takes a long time for food to move through a tortoise's digestive tract. What he eats today may not come out the other end for a couple weeks. I've tested this by feeding my Manouria tortoises canteloup with seeds. I didn't see the seeds for a couple weeks. Of course, different species of tortoise may digest faster or slower. But to answer your question, some tortoises poop every day, some not as often. If you notice your tortoise has to strain to poop, then maybe he's not well-hydrated.

 

[tortoise007]

I do know that red foot are sorta different than most torts in the way that they need fruits veggies and some times a little protein. I'm not an expert on red foots so I wouldn't always listen to me.