Sulcata tortoise poop

[jenromero2022]

Hi, I know the typical answer for this question but in regards to my 5 year old sulcata, is it normal for their poop to smell so awful that the smell is almost suffocating and lingers for a day or two? I know its not supposed to smell good, but should it be this bad?

 

[Tom]

Hi, I know the typical answer for this question but in regards to my 5 year old sulcata, is it normal for their poop to smell so awful that the smell is almost suffocating and lingers for a day or two? I know its not supposed to smell good, but should it be this bad?

No. That's not normal. Tortoise poop is usually not bad at all. Bearded dragon poop will clear a room though...

What size tortoise? They grow at vastly different rates so a five year old could be 2 pounds or 80. Are you keeping him warm 24/7 and well hydrated in the cooler winter weather? Is he housed indoors or out? What do you feed him?

 

[jenromero2022]

No. That's not normal. Tortoise poop is usually not bad at all. Bearded dragon poop will clear a room though...

What size tortoise? They grow at vastly different rates so a five year old could be 2 pounds or 80. Are you keeping him warm 24/7 and well hydrated in the cooler winter weather? Is he housed indoors or out? What do you feed him?

He's about 20 lbs now. He's kept warm 24/7 and as of this week he's housed indoors. He is normally outdoors when it's warmer. I live in Houston so it's usually hot and humid. I saw him drinking water the last 3 days in a row, which I can't recall seeing him drink like that before. His diet consist of grass, vegetables (mostly greens, kale, lettuce, squash, along with others) Watermelon and a variety of fruit, but only a small amount once or twice per week. He also gets Timothy hay, flowers and plants I grow specifically for him. I also put calcium powder on his food. Honestly it has smelled like this as long as I can recall, it just seems worse maybe because he's a lot bigger and there's more of it now.

 

[ecachuh]

Definitely not normal. My Sulcatas reminds me of a pasture.

Get rid of the sugar...no fruits. On occasion mine gets cactus fruit. They don't digest sugar right. I don't know how much you're giving him but that could cause his gut to be off...the beneficial bacteria just like we have.

Maybe that could be it.

 

[ecachuh]

Also does he get soaks?

 

[Tom]

He's about 20 lbs now. He's kept warm 24/7 and as of this week he's housed indoors. He is normally outdoors when it's warmer. I live in Houston so it's usually hot and humid. I saw him drinking water the last 3 days in a row, which I can't recall seeing him drink like that before. His diet consist of grass, vegetables (mostly greens, kale, lettuce, squash, along with others) Watermelon and a variety of fruit, but only a small amount once or twice per week. He also gets Timothy hay, flowers and plants I grow specifically for him. I also put calcium powder on his food. Honestly it has smelled like this as long as I can recall, it just seems worse maybe because he's a lot bigger and there's more of it now.

No fruit. It can wreak havoc with their GI tract.

Switch to orchard grass hay instead of Timothy. Timothy is too stemmy.

Where do you keep a 20 pound tortoise indoors with enough heat? At 20 pounds, he should have an insulated night box and be living outdoors in your climate. Something like this:

Single Tortoise Night Box

I like my larger tortoises to live outside full time. My climate permits this year round with a little help. For people who live where it snows all winter, this type of box is still good for warmer weather, getting them out earlier in Spring, and keeping them out a bit later into fall. You'll...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[jenromero2022]

Definitely not normal. My Sulcatas reminds me of a pasture.

Get rid of the sugar...no fruits. On occasion mine gets cactus fruit. They don't digest sugar right. I don't know how much you're giving him but that could cause his gut to be off...the beneficial bacteria just like we have.

Maybe that could be it.

Thank you. I'll try that and see how he does.

 

[jenromero2022]

No fruit. It can wreak havoc with their GI tract.

Switch to orchard grass hay instead of Timothy. Timothy is too stemmy.

Where do you keep a 20 pound tortoise indoors with enough heat? At 20 pounds, he should have an insulated night box and be living outdoors in your climate. Something like this:

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/single-tortoise-night-box.181515/[/UR

[QUOTE="Tom, post: 2164258, memb... than we were accustomed to. [/SIZE] [/QUOTE]

 

[jenromero2022]

We have something similar to this, but I was afraid it wasn't enough room for him. He fits in it and has space to turn and walk around some but in everything I've read for the last few years, I've never found anything that has info on how much space is needed to house a tortoise his size. Plus, as silly as it may sound, I felt like I should bring him inside when it's cold, even if it's in the garage, then I can make sure he's warm and not alone outside. I also have 3 dogs that seem to see Shelly as either another dog or at least part of their little pack. Thank you for all of the information. I wish I had found this forum years ago. Thanks again.

 

[Tom]

We have something similar to this, but I was afraid it wasn't enough room for him. He fits in it and has space to turn and walk around some but in everything I've read for the last few years, I've never found anything that has info on how much space is needed to house a tortoise his size. Plus, as silly as it may sound, I felt like I should bring him inside when it's cold, even if it's in the garage, then I can make sure he's warm and not alone outside. I also have 3 dogs that seem to see Shelly as either another dog or at least part of their little pack. Thank you for all of the information. I wish I had found this forum years ago. Thanks again.

Tortoises don't get lonely. They don't care about being alone, and probably prefer it.

My space recommendation for larger sulcatas is a minimum of 50x50 feet.

What is the temperature on the floor "inside", or inside the garage? It needs to be at least 80. For it to be 80 on the floor in winter, your thermostat would need to be set to 90-95 at eye level. Inside is not warm enough. They need their own space that is well insulated and heated up to the temps that they need.

 

[jenromero2022]

Tortoises don't get lonely. They don't care about being alone, and probably prefer it.

My space recommendation for larger sulcatas is a minimum of 50x50 feet.

What is the temperature on the floor "inside", or inside the garage? It needs to be at least 80. For it to be 80 on the floor in winter, your thermostat would need to be set to 90-95 at eye level. Inside is not warm enough. They need their own space that is well insulated and heated up to the temps that they need.

Thank you for the information. We're working on his box now so it should be ready this evening.
As for the temperature in the garage, he has an enclosed area, about half of the garage that I'm able to heat with a space heater, along with his lights and heat pad. I have read that tortoises don't get lonely or have many attributes as say a dog, but I didn't realize they would prefer to be alone. Again, thank you for the information. He'll be a happy tortoise by this evening.