tortoise not pooping

[bulbasaurthetort]

hello again

i post on here quite often because i’m always concerned about my little guy, but he’s a year and a half eastern hermann’s tortoise, and well i haven’t seen him poop in a couple days, i don’t know the exact amount but i know he hasn’t since christmas day, i can’t remember before that. usually he poops daily, i fed him a little bit of pumpkin today and yesterday, but still nothing, he’s had multiple warm water soaks too, im calling the emergency vet in the morning to get it checked out but i wanted to see if anyone else had any other recommendations, he’s still very active and will eat if there’s food, and his temps are warm, i don’t know why he won’t poop, he does pee though and his urates are good. thank you

 

[ZEROPILOT]

hello again

i post on here quite often because i’m always concerned about my little guy, but he’s a year and a half eastern hermann’s tortoise, and well i haven’t seen him poop in a couple days, i don’t know the exact amount but i know he hasn’t since christmas day, i can’t remember before that. usually he poops daily, i fed him a little bit of pumpkin today and yesterday, but still nothing, he’s had multiple warm water soaks too, im calling the emergency vet in the morning to get it checked out but i wanted to see if anyone else had any other recommendations, he’s still very active and will eat if there’s food, and his temps are warm, i don’t know why he won’t poop, he does pee though and his urates are good. thank you

Maybe I'm missing something because there wasn't a lot of information there..But the one thing that came to my mind is that it's winter.
What temperature is it in your tortoises enclosure?
They can not digest food properly without an inner body temperature below around 80°.
If this is the case. If you think this could be the case. get him warm quickly. Undigested food can cause issues in the gut.

 

[bulbasaurthetort]

Maybe I'm missing something because there wasn't a lot of information there..But the one thing that came to my mind is that it's winter.
What temperature is it in your tortoises enclosure?
They can not digest food properly without an inner body temperature below around 80°.
If this is the case. If you think this could be the case. get him warm quickly. Undigested food can cause issues in the gut.

i moved his lamp a little to make it warmer but it’s well over 90 normally in his basking area and that’s usually where he sleeps bc he makes little holes to sleep in, i moved it because he has been more active lately so maybe he wasn’t getting warm enough to poop bc of that ? im not sure to be honest i’ve never really had huge problems with him till this

 

[Lyn W]

I wouldn't go to a vet yet if it's only been a few days.
My tort eats less and is less active in the winter so he poops less - sometimes over a week.
Keep up the warm shallow soaks and make sure he has room to move about in his tub because the exercise often causes them to poop. You could try some cucumber which has a laxative effect. I either grate it to a mush and put on leaves or just give fine slithers of the flesh. Also check his uvb levels and temps etc.
Another trick if that doesn't work is to take him for a ride in the car, put him in a well lined box on the floor and the vibrations may make him defecate. I've always heated the car before putting him in so he doesn't get cold.

 

[bulbasaurthetort]

I wouldn't go to a vet yet if it's only been a few days.
My tort eats less and is less active in the winter so he poops less - sometimes over a week.
Keep up the warm shallow soaks and make sure he has room to move about in his tub because the exercise often causes them to poop. You could try some cucumber which has a laxative effect. I either grate it to a mush and put on leaves or just give fine slithers of the flesh. Also check his uvb levels and temps etc.
Another trick if that doesn't work is to take him for a ride in the car, put him in a well lined box on the floor and the vibrations may make him defecate. I've always heated the car before putting him in so he doesn't get cold.

thank you !!! i will try all of these things! i assumed he was still healthy after monitoring him because he still moves around ( he got a little excited with his rocks yesterday if yk what i mean ) and he still eats and has good urates, so i’m trying different foods to see if any will help him out

 

[Tom]

thank you !!! i will try all of these things! i assumed he was still healthy after monitoring him because he still moves around ( he got a little excited with his rocks yesterday if yk what i mean ) and he still eats and has good urates, so i’m trying different foods to see if any will help him out

Urates are a sign of dehydration in a young indoor tortoise. You probably need to soak more often and for longer time periods.

Most year and a half old tortoises do not poop every day. It normal to go several days in between poops. If you are seeing no other problems, then I'd wait awhile. If the tortoise was impacted or constipated, activity level and appetite would be reduced.