red contents in water bowl

[csheikh]

hello. I have a sulcata tortoise. I'm currently planning his proper closed enclosure but he's in an open enclosure right now. Yesterday evening he used his water bowl and pooped in it. I wasn't home at night and arrived late, so I was too tired to clean it. At around 3AM, my mom woke up and saw that the tortoises water bowl was red. I didn't see it for myself though, since my dad washed his bowl before I woke up. I'm really concerned about it since he's also constantly climbing the sides of his enclosure throughout the day, and flips over sometimes. It stopped for a year but he's started it again. Is the red because his poop may have slightly dissolved into the water? Or is it something in his food?

 

[Sarah2020]

The poo can dissolve but if your feeding fresh green leaves then it should be a browny green. Are you feeding g anything red? I would suggest red is blood and you may need to get medical help but I would monitor and check next poos. Climbing and flipping is normal behaviour esp if they can see outside the enclosure and you need to keep and eye to ensure they are flipped back. They can self right if there is something to latch on to.

 

[csheikh]

The poo can dissolve but if your feeding fresh green leaves then it should be a browny green. Are you feeding g anything red? I would suggest red is blood and you may need to get medical help but I would monitor and check next poos. Climbing and flipping is normal behaviour esp if they can see outside the enclosure and you need to keep and eye to ensure they are flipped back. They can self right if there is something to latch on to.

Ok, I'll check his poos from now on. He eats grass, weeds and vitas vinifera leaves. I give him pink petunias sometimes but I haven't given him any this week. If it is blood what should I do? There's no tortoise specialist here in Pakistan. The vets don't know anything about tortoises and I know from previous experiences that I shouldn't let them meddle with the torts.

 

[Sarah2020]

Do you soak the tortose in shallow warm water this is great for hydration and helps pass urine and poo. Maybe try that as well to see if you see anything unusual.

 

[TammyJ]

It seems as if you need to try to organize your time to read our care sheets and follow the advice about Sulcatas as closely as possible, and also, make time to care for him yourself because after making the changes that need to be made, you and you alone, and not your parents, will know exactly how to treat him so he won't need a vet, unless he really is sick. An expert here will post a link for you to the Sulcata care sheet.

 

[Lyn W]

This is the caresheet Tammy mentioned which will help you correct/avoid mistakes.

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

tortoiseforum.org

If you post a picture of his enclosure members can help you find ways to stop him climbing and flipping.