Normal growth? Help me :(

[Tom]

They can definitely poop that much in a day. I'd start weighing weekly, and try to get into a routine so its done at the same time of day and after the same series of events. For example: I always weigh in the afternoon on Mazuri days, after a long soak. This way, they tank up on Mazuri, but they drink and void their bowels in the soak. This makes for more consistent weights. Full or empty stomach and full or empty bowels can make a huge weight difference in a 28 pound tortoise. If your tortoise ate or drank less because of the weird overcast weather we've been having and then had a big bowel movement due to the rain, I would expect the weight to be lower.

 

[Alaskamike]

I've experienced this myself. It worried me , had a fecal check - returned negative.

For me it was a couple months in winter ( South Florida ). They were inactive & ate less.

Keep watching. A fecal check is a good idea.

 

[thegame2388]

They can definitely poop that much in a day. I'd start weighing weekly, and try to get into a routine so its done at the same time of day and after the same series of events. For example: I always weigh in the afternoon on Mazuri days, after a long soak. This way, they tank up on Mazuri, but they drink and void their bowels in the soak. This makes for more consistent weights. Full or empty stomach and full or empty bowels can make a huge weight difference in a 28 pound tortoise. If your tortoise ate or drank less because of the weird overcast weather we've been having and then had a big bowel movement due to the rain, I would expect the weight to be lower.

It sounds like it's nothing. At what point should I be concerned? If he's the same weight....a month from now? He seems to be eating normally.

 

[thegame2388]

I've experienced this myself. It worried me , had a fecal check - returned negative.

For me it was a couple months in winter ( South Florida ). They were inactive & ate less.

Keep watching. A fecal check is a good idea.

I will keep watching. I have never seen a downturn in his weight....ever.

 

[Tom]

It sounds like it's nothing. At what point should I be concerned? If he's the same weight....a month from now? He seems to be eating normally.

I'd watch activity level and appetite. If that seems fine, I wouldn't worry too much.

No harm in taking a fecal in to check for parasites...

 

[thegame2388]

I'd watch activity level and appetite. If that seems fine, I wouldn't worry too much.

No harm in taking a fecal in to check for parasites...

Are these.....rocks?!

 

[Tom]

Looks like it. Many of them eat rocks.

What do you normally feed? It's more common in tortoises that are fed a lot of grocery store produce and less common when they eat mostly grass and weeds.

 

[thegame2388]

Looks like it. Many of them eat rocks.

What do you normally feed? It's more common in tortoises that are fed a lot of grocery store produce and less common when they eat mostly grass and weeds.

You mean lettuce? Why would that cause rocks?

 

[Tom]

You mean lettuce? Why would that cause rocks?

They will sometimes eat rocks, bark, twigs, etc…, if there is a lack of fiber or minerals, or a mineral imbalance. Things like lettuce do not provide them with what they need, so their body tells them to eat things they shouldn't to try and compensate.

This is the reason we always say that tortoise need "a high fiber, high calcium" diet. For sulcatas this should consist of grass, weeds, leaves, flowers and cactus of the right types.

In some cases they will eat enough rocks to become impacted and die.

So again, what are you typically feeding your tortoise?

 

[thegame2388]

They will sometimes eat rocks, bark, twigs, etc…, if there is a lack of fiber or minerals, or a mineral imbalance. Things like lettuce do not provide them with what they need, so their body tells them to eat things they shouldn't to try and compensate.

This is the reason we always say that tortoise need "a high fiber, high calcium" diet. For sulcatas this should consist of grass, weeds, leaves, flowers and cactus of the right types.

In some cases they will eat enough rocks to become impacted and die.

So again, what are you typically feeding your tortoise?

He just pooped today and I saw this again...what in the world?

His diet has been consistent for 3 years now: Mazuri, chopped greens/kale, and lettuce.

I have never seen these rocks. At first I thought they were were kidney stones...but there's no way these would calcify like this over a period of days....that would take WEEKS. Another weird thing is that I'm having trouble actually finding these rocks in our backyard....if they're not in our yard, could they something he's been brewing in his stomach for weeks?

 

[Dizisdalife]

Does he have a burrow? Rocks like that could come from below the surface of the ground.

 

[thegame2388]

Does he have a burrow? Rocks like that could come from below the surface of the ground.

No burrow. I'm trying to find where he's eating these rocks...I can't find them.

 

[Tom]

No burrow. I'm trying to find where he's eating these rocks...I can't find them.

There are little rocks like that all over the ground in our yards. He's seeking them out on purpose.

Time to change his diet and get him eating the right stuff. Read this one again:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

I've got a whole bunch of mature, multi-year old opuntia pads that I recently cut and dried for replanting. Drive your butt up here and get them! No charge. While you are out, look around for mulberry trees. They are everywhere around SoCal.

Know anyone with a horse? If not, find a local feed store near you and see if you can buy some grass hay. Where do you buy your Mazuri? Orchard grass hay or bermuda grass hay work the best. You can buy a whole bale, but that will last one tortoise forever. One bale (About $20 for bern=muda hay and $25 for orchard grass hay.) lasts my whole herd of 13 adults two or three months, and I'm using it for bedding too. I'll give you a bunch in a trash bag to get you started. Hopefully your local feed store will let you rake up the chaff that falls off when they move the bails around. Lay it out in a pile somewhere where it will stay dry, and feed your tortoise on a bed of it for a couple of weeks. In time, if he doesn't start munching on it on his own, you can start grabbing handfuls and chopping it up with scissors onto the pile of greens and mixing it all in.

Know anyone with grape vines or hibiscus plants? Ask your friends and family. They will be happy to have you trim their plants on a regular basis.

In addition to feeding the right foods, you ought to order up some "MinerAll" from Sticky Tongue Farms. Use it three times a week for a couple of weeks and then cut it back to twice a week until the rock eating behavior stops.

When you get this all going the right way, you will save a ton of money too.

If you don't take action and fix this problem, you are likely to have an impacted tortoise in the not too distant future. I'll bet an X-ray would reveal a whole lot more gravel in the GI tract right now.

 

[Tom]

He just pooped today and I saw this again...what in the world?

The white stuff in the second pic is urates. That is starting to look pretty thick. Let's talk about your soaking routine. Have you gotten lazy or complacent and stopped soaking him. Did you read something on the internet machine from some one in FL that said you don't need to soak them? Who soaks them in nature, right?

Soak your tortoise man. This is how Maggie's Bob died. Lack of soaking will cause those urates to form into a large "stone" and eventually kill him if you don't have it surgically removed in a procedure where they literally saw through the plastron to get inside… Its awful.

Get a big tub and soak him three times a week for an hour or more. Keep this up for two or three weeks, and then you can cut back to once or twice a week in summer. You can use one of those large kiddie pools from Walmart. They only cost $15.

 

[thegame2388]

The white stuff in the second pic is urates. That is starting to look pretty thick. Let's talk about your soaking routine. Have you gotten lazy or complacent and stopped soaking him. Did you read something on the internet machine from some one in FL that said you don't need to soak them? Who soaks them in nature, right?

Soak your tortoise man. This is how Maggie's Bob died. Lack of soaking will cause those urates to form into a large "stone" and eventually kill him if you don't have it surgically removed in a procedure where they literally saw through the plastron to get inside… Its awful.

Get a big tub and soak him three times a week for an hour or more. Keep this up for two or three weeks, and then you can cut back to once or twice a week in summer. You can use one of those large kiddie pools from Walmart. They only cost $15.

We've isolated the rocks. Removed them. We will soak as much as we can and we will give him more calcium.

 

[Tom]

We've isolated the rocks. Removed them. We will soak as much as we can and we will give him more calcium.

More calcium is not needed and might make it worse. He needs FIBER and the right foods, as well as BALANCED minerals.

He's not eating the rocks because he's calcium deficient. He's eating the rocks because he's either lacking fiber, lacking the right minerals, he has a mineral imbalance (To which adding calcium will make it worse.), or some combination of two or three of these things.

Removing the rocks will not correct the problem. Adding calcium will not correct the problem. You need to fix the diet, and using the MinerAll will help restore the right mineral and trace element balance. You have a grass eating species. Not a lettuce eating species. Feed your tortoise either fresh grass, or grass hay. Lots of it. Your tortoises diet should be 50-80% grass or grass hay.

Soaking is always good. That will help pass any rocks that have already been ingested, and also help thin out those urates. Adding fiber to the diet in the form of grass, opuntia pads, and the leaves I mentioned will also help pass any previously ingested rocks.

 

[thegame2388]

Yearly Thanksgiving November size comparison update. Will weigh him in a few days!

 

[Oxalis]

Yearly Thanksgiving November size comparison update. Will weigh him in a few days!

Cute! Amazing how fast they grow, huh?

 

[thegame2388]

They can definitely poop that much in a day. I'd start weighing weekly, and try to get into a routine so its done at the same time of day and after the same series of events. For example: I always weigh in the afternoon on Mazuri days, after a long soak. This way, they tank up on Mazuri, but they drink and void their bowels in the soak. This makes for more consistent weights. Full or empty stomach and full or empty bowels can make a huge weight difference in a 28 pound tortoise. If your tortoise ate or drank less because of the weird overcast weather we've been having and then had a big bowel movement due to the rain, I would expect the weight to be lower.

Most recent weigh-in is at 12,750g...for an increase of about 200g since 3 months ago. Of course, he did poop today so it's perhaps something like 14,000 but who knows. That's my only concern...apart from that, regular grazing, Mazuri, eating, and soaks. Walks and is pretty active.

 

[thegame2388]

UPDATE 11/29/2017: I notice he eats A LOT more grass than he used to before....not in overall amounts, but just the fact that he's grazing around and eating grass is newer behavior I've noticed, and a welcoming one! His weigh-in today was 12,830g which is nice. I expect a 4.5 year old tortoise to be bigger but hey, maybe that's normal.

Here are some pictures from today: