Possible Impaction. Need advice please.

[SJ3030]

My 7 year old Sulcata has been passing urates nearly everyday with every other day being larger in quantity. They are always moist and he was defecating normally up until 2 days ago when in the early evening I gave him a couple cherries and a small piece of banana (I only give him fruit once or twice a month). The next day he was eating but only defecated a small amount (where as he usually poops the amount that eats) and that small amount did have urates on it. I could tell he was trying to defecate but couldn't. I though it could have been the fruit but then I learned of impacted urates. I read to soak him, so I have, for about 3, 45min sessions to no avail. I've also tried massaging the area around the cloaca. Should I try force feeding him a safe laxative or are there any alternatives I'm missing?

His food:
http://store.tomsbirdfeeders.com/Grassland-Tortoise-Food-Bulk-12-oz-to-12-lbs_p_1564.html


Thank you everyone for your replies.

 

[Yvonne G]

Have you always fed this manufactured food to the tortoise? He really should be getting fresh greens, grasses and weeds.

You can try giving the tortoise some aloe vera plant. That usually causes the stool to loosen up a bit.

 

[wellington]

Also, when you soak him in warm water, be sure it's a large area he can move around in. The moving sometimes will help,get things passing through. A better diet I agree is needed.

 

[SJ3030]

Have you always fed this manufactured food to the tortoise? He really should be getting fresh greens, grasses and weeds.

You can try giving the tortoise some aloe vera plant. That usually causes the stool to loosen up a bit.

I have unfortunately given him this type of food for the majority of his diet, though just recently switched to this brand. For a while I picked weeds and grasses (mostly due to the increased cost of the pellets) and thought he wasn't eating enough, comparing his behavior to when he eats the rehydrated pellet food. When I found this bulk food I went back. I must admit, now I'm more aware he probably ate more because it was easier and probably tasted better, akin to fast food.

Thank you for your reply. I will try the aloe and I will pick this guy fresh stuff everyday from now on.

 

[SJ3030]

Also, when you soak him in warm water, be sure it's a large area he can move around in. The moving sometimes will help,get things passing through. A better diet I agree is needed.

I put him in my tub, though he seems to get really relaxed by the warm water and he starts napping. I tried to play ball with him (which usually gets him moving his fastest) but he is not interested. I wouldn't say he is especially lethargic though. When I take him out of the tub it's back to marching around. He's just trying to defecate every so often with no success.

 

[ascott]

Keep offering up soaks, you can also offer a piece of food with some mineral oil injected in the food (make it food that he can take in with a bite)...this will help to move along anything, did you remove the pits/seeds from the cherries before you offered it to the tort?

 

[Tom]

In addition to long warm soaks in a bathtub, try a car ride. 20-30 minutes usually breaks everything loose. Use a water proof plastic tub of some sort for car rides.

 

[SJ3030]

Keep offering up soaks, you can also offer a piece of food with some mineral oil injected in the food (make it food that he can take in with a bite)...this will help to move along anything, did you remove the pits/seeds from the cherries before you offered it to the tort?

The soaks, I believe, are working slowly and I did remove the pits. I'm going to try the laxative route if nothing budges this morning. Thank you for your reply.

 

[SJ3030]

In addition to long warm soaks in a bathtub, try a car ride. 20-30 minutes usually breaks everything loose. Use a water proof plastic tub of some sort for car rides.

Sounds like a good idea. I was following him around, patting on his shell to send some vibrations through him. I though he was getting peeved with me until after I was done he came and sought out my feet to lay on . Thank you very much for the advice.

 

[tortadise]

The soaks, I believe, are working slowly and I did remove the pits. I'm going to try the laxative route if nothing budges this morning. Thank you for your reply.

I wouldn't offer a laxative to a tortoise. At least not a manufactured pharmaceutical one. Tortoises gut works rather slowly unless temperatures are quite warm and stay warm(above 80-85) allows there gut to digest and process fully. When temperatures dip lower than this the energy is halted in their digestion to allocate energy to the remaking of the body. A kinda way to keep warm in a sense but not really. Anyways. I would definitely not give a laxative. You can give laxative acting foods, like pumpkins, aloe Vera, cucumber or zucchini. But with extreme temps comes dehydration and typically followed are lots of irate because the kidneys are working overtime and just expelling in an expedited manor. Keep soaking and hydrating him. Offer more fiber rich foods. Outside with lots of grass able to be consumed is going to be best. When a tortoise is truly impacted it will be very lethargic and show signs of septicemia or peticcial hemorrhages.

Where do you keep this tortoise during the day? Outside or inside? I'd definitely stop feeding cherries and anything besides, cactus, grasses and weeds.

 

[SJ3030]

I saw some urates in the tub last night. I'm hoping he's on the way to clearing himself out. Thank you everyone again for your advice.

 

[Hix2008]

Have you tried cactus that works good?

 

[Tom]

Kelly brings up a good point. Where are you and what are your temperatures? Keeping them warmer will help move things along too. My tortoises frequently poop where they bask.

 

[Yvonne G]

You may be misunderstanding 'impaction' and 'urate stones.' Urates comes from the bladder. Has nothing to do with pooping. You want the urates to be a smooth consistency, not rock-like. Impaction is usually from something that has been eaten, like sand or rocks. This effects the bowels and intestines, nothing to do with the urates.

 

[SJ3030]

I wouldn't offer a laxative to a tortoise. At least not a manufactured pharmaceutical one. Tortoises gut works rather slowly unless temperatures are quite warm and stay warm(above 80-85) allows there gut to digest and process fully. When temperatures dip lower than this the energy is halted in their digestion to allocate energy to the remaking of the body. A kinda way to keep warm in a sense but not really. Anyways. I would definitely not give a laxative. You can give laxative acting foods, like pumpkins, aloe Vera, cucumber or zucchini. But with extreme temps comes dehydration and typically followed are lots of irate because the kidneys are working overtime and just expelling in an expedited manor. Keep soaking and hydrating him. Offer more fiber rich foods. Outside with lots of grass able to be consumed is going to be best. When a tortoise is truly impacted it will be very lethargic and show signs of septicemia or peticcial hemorrhages.

Where do you keep this tortoise during the day? Outside or inside? I'd definitely stop feeding cherries and anything besides, cactus, grasses and weeds.

Thank you for all the information. Your example of laxative acting foods were all I had in mind but thank you for the concern. He stays inside during the night the roams around inside and out during the day. It is raining today and it seems he can usually tell if inclement weather is near as likes to take the day off from marching. I just hope he doesn't get worse. I believe the food I've been giving him is high in fibre, though I may have been feeding him too much of it by letting him eat till he was full. He obviously was excreting more than what I could discern as normal urate amounts. What is normal, in your perception, for the amount of Sulcata urate excretion?

 

[SJ3030]

You may be misunderstanding 'impaction' and 'urate stones.' Urates comes from the bladder. Has nothing to do with pooping. You want the urates to be a smooth consistency, not rock-like. Impaction is usually from something that has been eaten, like sand or rocks. This effects the bowels and intestines, nothing to do with the urates.

Thank you for clearing that up. I only got the idea from reading something specifically talking about urate impaction. Your explanation is clear to me however. His urates are smooth and are always accompanied by urine so I was assuming he was getting enough water and his feces was also moist. The only thing out of the ordinary were those cherries.

 

[SJ3030]

Kelly brings up a good point. Where are you and what are your temperatures? Keeping them warmer will help move things along too. My tortoises frequently poop where they bask.

I'm in Colorado and it's been very warm here. He's been sun basking on the patio and his ritual usually includes defecating around there.

 

[SJ3030]

Have you tried cactus that works good?

I haven't but I will give it a try. Thank you for you reply.

 

[Tom]

I'm in Colorado and it's been very warm here. He's been sun basking on the patio and his ritual usually includes defecating around there.

Warm by your standards might be cool by sub-Saharan Africa standards. The daily high is typically around 100 there and the nightly lows sometimes drop into the 70s , but down in their burrows I'm guessing it hovers close to 80, based on what my burrow temps are during our summers here which are similar to the year round temps in sulcata country. If your temps are cooler than that day or night, warming things up a bit might help with the pooping.

 

[SJ3030]

Warm by your standards might be cool by sub-Saharan Africa standards. The daily high is typically around 100 there and the nightly lows sometimes drop into the 70s , but down in their burrows I'm guessing it hovers close to 80, based on what my burrow temps are during our summers here which are similar to the year round temps in sulcata country. If your temps are cooler than that day or night, warming things up a bit might help with the pooping.

You are very right. He does have a heat lamp accessible to him which he on goes to when theres inclement weather. That's where he's at right now because it's been raining all day but I did kind of force it on him as he was sleeping next to my bed.