My tortoise ate repti bark

[Lewis516]

Hello I'll keep it short. I came home from work today and as I got in I noticed my tort throwing himself backwards and was choking on a piece of repti bark that he must've taken a liking to.

It was stuck inside his upper beak and he was unable to get it out or swallow it, he tried to let me grab it but out of reflex he swallowed it eventually.

I'm mostly asking for advice on what to do next and if anyone has any experience with this. Is he likely to pass the small wood chip on his own? the vets have advised that I monitor him for a few days for signs of discomfort (which is hard as tortoises are so hard to read)

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Hello I'll keep it short. I came home from work today and as I got in I noticed my tort throwing himself backwards and was choking on a piece of repti bark that he must've taken a liking to.

It was stuck inside his upper beak and he was unable to get it out or swallow it, he tried to let me grab it but out of reflex he swallowed it eventually.

I'm mostly asking for advice on what to do next and if anyone has any experience with this. Is he likely to pass the small wood chip on his own? the vets have advised that I monitor him for a few days for signs of discomfort (which is hard as tortoises are so hard to read)

Any advice is appreciated.

Hello!
You may help him a bit with long warm soaks and some laxative foods like opuntia cactus pads or aloe (if he will agree to eat them). If the bark piece was small enough to swallow then likely it will find its way out.

As a last resort you can use a leaf of lettuce covered in mineral oil.

You will see if he feels discomfort - less appetite, struggling to poo and so.

Also it's important to find the cause for eating bark. For example it was stuck to a food piece or you use colored heat bulbs or something else.

 

[Lewis516]

Hello!
You may help him a bit with long warm soaks and some laxative foods like opuntia cactus pads or aloe (if he will agree to eat them). If the bark piece was small enough to swallow then likely it will find its way out.

As a last resort you can use a leaf of lettuce covered in mineral oil.

You will see if he feels discomfort - less appetite, struggling to poo and so.

Also it's important to find the cause for eating bark. For example it was stuck to a food piece or you use colored heat bulbs or something else.

Thank you, im going to up his bath time over the next few days. When I fed him this morning I may have dropped a bit of his food in his enclosure rather than on his slate so he might have smelt that. This is the first time I've seen him do this and I've never spotted it in his poo do you think he will pass it or digest it completely?

 

[Maggie3fan]

It sounds like an accident to me..When you put him in for a soak like Alex says...make his water a bit deep so he feels like he must kinda panic swim...that brings poop on for sure...but I do suggest...going thru his feces to make sure he passes it...good luck, keep us posted

 

[Lewis516]

It sounds like an accident to me..When you put him in for a soak like Alex says...make his water a bit deep so he feels like he must kinda panic swim...that brings poop on for sure...but I do suggest...going thru his feces to make sure he passes it...good luck, keep us posted

Will do Thank you

 

[Chubbs the tegu]

In a healthy tortoise ive never found them to have trouble passing a lil bark or similar.. a screw or nail may do some damage but a lil mulch should pass right through. But i agree with all of the above recommendations