Stringy poop/ not coming out fully?

[Obsessiveplantkeeper]

Hello, cheese is a 20ish year old tortoise i got less than a year ago, and he has been having “stringed poop” i dont really know how to describe it but he was just dragging it along by a string of… i have no clue it looked like thread or something(he has not eaten thread) and another chunk was not coming out. I figured he would wipe(?) it off on his own but after tenish minutes he was still dragging it along. So i grabbed like 30 towels and kinda wiped it off…. Im not sure if that was the right move im sorry. I am kind of panicked right now i would appreciate any input. I read it could be constipation or a bladder stone and i am going to soak him asap

Also he pooped again about ten minutes later and it was normal so maybe I overreacted but i would still like to know if there is something i did wrong(probably)

-btw he has a bath about once a week sometimes twice if i have time
-i feed him kale and dandelions, always washed
-only changed have been putting him inside because its too cold outside now

 

[longevity]

Could it be a hair? That sometimes happens with my baby Sully too — if one of my hairs falls into his food, he eats it and later it comes out hanging from his poop. It looks strange, but it’s usually nothing to worry about. When that happens, I just clean the hanging poop and gently cut the hair
off.

 

[Obsessiveplantkeeper]

It could be hair, that seems likely. thanks for replying so quickly!

 

[Maggie3fan]

It could be hair, that seems likely. thanks for replying so quickly!

Or it was a long blade of grass...actually it happens a lot, my own hair is long, so I always think it's my hair... but when you pull it out, do it kinda slow and don't tug if it gets hard to pull...

 

[TammyJ]

I think you should take him to a good reptile vet to be checked for worms.

 

[Obsessiveplantkeeper]

I think you should take him to a good reptile vet to be checked for worms.

Uh oh, i never thought about that.. my parents might not be to thrilled about taking him to a vet so do you think i could do research on symptoms and if some of those match i would take him but i think a trip might make then second guess letting me adopt him if it ends up not being a problem. How common are worms in tortoises??

 

[TammyJ]

Uh oh, i never thought about that.. my parents might not be to thrilled about taking him to a vet so do you think i could do research on symptoms and if some of those match i would take him but i think a trip might make then second guess letting me adopt him if it ends up not being a problem. How common are worms in tortoises??

I'm going to ask @zovick who would be better able to help and advise you than I am.
It would have been good to see some pictures of your tortoise and the "stringy" poop.

 

[zovick]

Uh oh, i never thought about that.. my parents might not be to thrilled about taking him to a vet so do you think i could do research on symptoms and if some of those match i would take him but i think a trip might make then second guess letting me adopt him if it ends up not being a problem. How common are worms in tortoises??

Almost all tortoises have some worms. If there are not many, it is not a problem; however, if the tortoise becomes sick or debilitated for some reason, the worms can rapidly multiply and become problematic.

The first thing to do would be for you to take a stool sample to a good vet and have it checked for worms. This testing is not that costly and will tell you whether you need to be concerned about worms or not.