Stool-Related Questions

Geode890

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Hello all! I'm rather new to this site and tortoises in general, but have done a lot of my research on this site and had a couple questions that I haven't been able to find elsewhere. I got my tortoise, Geode, on the 18th of August. At first he was quite timid, but quickly warmed up to his habitat, diet, and me, and everything seemed fine. He also became a lot more active.

I soaked him quiet often during his first week, as I read a few threads suggesting, and started feeding him a mix of chopped kale, mustard greens, collared greens, and turnip greens? (I think it was turnip greens, but I don't recall at the moment). Recently, he's been pooping a lot more frequently and it's been in his habitat as opposed to while bathing, as well as being more of a cow pie-consistency as opposed to the more leafy-green looking stool he was creating before.

Is this because of his change of diet between the pet store and what I'm feeding him, or is there something wrong that I should change or do? I believe the temps are all right, 90-95 degrees on the warm side and 74-75 degrees on the cool side, with a slate on the warm side that sometimes reaches closer to 100 degrees, if that is relevant.

And another question: as my local store is a rather significant distance from me and storing a large amount of different leafy greens can be difficult, I looked into alternatives and read that feeding him one type of veggie for one week, then changing the veggie for the next week, and so on would be varied enough. For example, one week he'd get only kale, and the next only collared greens, and then only mustard greens, etc. Is this correct, or do I need to continue mixing different greens for every feeding?

Thank you all for your input!
 

Gillian M

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A warm welcome to the forum. :)

Please post pics of your tort and read the "Beginners Mistakes" Thread.
 

Geode890

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I've read over the "Beginners Mistakes" thread quite a few times, although unfortunately after I had already purchased his pet-store water dish. I'll be getting a new, more suitable one in a few days, actually. And in terms of the pet-store food, I've read in many places, as well as seen from experience working in pet stores, that many tortoises will refuse to eat it, so I hadn't gotten any of that. Is there any place in particular to post my pictures, or should I just post them to this thread?
 

Gillian M

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I've read over the "Beginners Mistakes" thread quite a few times, although unfortunately after I had already purchased his pet-store water dish. I'll be getting a new, more suitable one in a few days, actually. And in terms of the pet-store food, I've read in many places, as well as seen from experience working in pet stores, that many tortoises will refuse to eat it, so I hadn't gotten any of that. Is there any place in particular to post my pictures, or should I just post them to this thread?
Please post pics here. Look forward to see them!
 

Bambam1989

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I've read over the "Beginners Mistakes" thread quite a few times, although unfortunately after I had already purchased his pet-store water dish. I'll be getting a new, more suitable one in a few days, actually. And in terms of the pet-store food, I've read in many places, as well as seen from experience working in pet stores, that many tortoises will refuse to eat it, so I hadn't gotten any of that. Is there any place in particular to post my pictures, or should I just post them to this thread?
Posted directly to this thread will be the most convenient method
 

Geode890

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I hope these are alright for the moment! He is sunning himself and I didn't want to interrupt him too much. :p

image2.jpeg image1.jpeg
 

Minority2

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please use the site linked below when choosing which foods to feed your tortoise. Pay attention to the harmful properties section:
https://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/index.php
https://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/tortoise-diet/harmful-properties/

Kale, mustard greens, and collard greens all contain amounts of goitrogen, a harmful property that when fed vast amounts can cause kidney and thyroid issues.

Use these two care sheets as a guide. An approved food list is provided. Use the tortoise table UK to get a better idea as to how often a type of food is allowed to be fed:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/b...or-other-herbivorous-tortoise-species.107734/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

Store bought greens are not the type of foods your tortoise should be eaten as a main staple.

Varied diet is more about preventing your tortoise from eating too much of one thing, cause harmful buildups. You don't need to feed your tortoise a mix of several varieties per feeding. You do however, have to regulate how they can eat so their bodies can have time to process the harmful properties found in the foods they eat.

For example: If you feed kale once or twice in one week, you should wait a week and or two before you feed kale/mustard/collards again because they all contain goitrogen.
 

Geode890

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Thank you for the quick reply! I'm a touch confused though, as the latter guide says that "If you don't have access to weeds during the winter, you can feed mustard greens, kale, and collard greens." If you can feed them those all winter, I'm surprised that I saw any ill effects this early on. Likewise, the second to last guide says that spring mix with added greens would be acceptable. Although weeds are available around me, they will actually be disappearing rather soon, so I won't even have those as an option in the near future. Would you happen to have any suggestions as what I should do regarding his diet, in this case?
 

Minority2

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Thank you for the quick reply! I'm a touch confused though, as the latter guide says that "If you don't have access to weeds during the winter, you can feed mustard greens, kale, and collard greens." If you can feed them those all winter, I'm surprised that I saw any ill effects this early on. Likewise, the second to last guide says that spring mix with added greens would be acceptable. Although weeds are available around me, they will actually be disappearing rather soon, so I won't even have those as an option in the near future. Would you happen to have any suggestions as what I should do regarding his diet, in this case?

You'll not reading everything stated. In the first link the poster also mentioned offering nopales/opunita cactus during the winter. Succulents are one of the best type of foods to offer tortoise. Hell, some species, such as homopus signatus, a tiny vulnerable species of tortoise, primary graze on succulents. Succulents shouldn't completely replace weeds, flowers, and grasses, however, in small to moderate portions, they can be included as a main staple. I always have a variety of fresh and frozen succulents available.

The second link describes grocery greens as more of secondary to last resort. Notice how Tom describes store bought greens as a "must" rather than a "need". Like I suggest in the previous post, use "tortoise table UK" to search and figure how often a food type should be fed.

Many of us grow our own tortoise food. Weeds, flowers, and succulents can be grown outdoors as well as indoors. Various tortoise online retailers offer seed mixes. Grow lights do not require much wattage. Space is the only factor. And if you're unable to grow them yourself you can always buy them/find them and either dehydrate or freeze them until you need it.

Pricky pear/nopales are commonly found in Hispanic supermarkets and farmer's markets.
 

Geode890

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Ah. I suppose I didn't pick up on that. I misinterpreted the first succulent-related section as an "include sometimes" kind of thing. Looking through the database, it seems as if globe artichoke would be a good thing to include, along with a tiny bit of kale, and I'll start trying to grow the Testudo mix, as referenced by one of the threads you posted. Thank you so much for your help!
 
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