Tortoise not pooping

[speedyTortoise]

Hello everyone, merry Christmas (almost)! My tortoise hasn't pooped for almost a week now. He is decently active, walking around a little but mostly digging, and has a good appetite. I feed him a small to medium amount of food in the morning and try to feed him in the afternoon if I can (feeding sessions take 30 minutes as I hand feed him). Should I be worried about this? Could he have ingested his substrate while he was digging? I am giving him a 40-60 minute bath every day now to get him to poop.

 

[wellington]

Is there a reason you hand feed him? He should be getting enough food to last him all day to graze on and off as he pleases. Then you try to feed him again. Just give him a pile of food and let him eat when he wants. If it's gone by the time you would have fed him again, give him more and increase the amount the next morning.
My first guess would be he's not getting enough to eat to poop as much as he probably should.

 

[speedyTortoise]

Is there a reason you hand feed him? He should be getting enough food to last him all day to graze on and off as he pleases. Then you try to feed him again. Just give him a pile of food and let him eat when he wants. If it's gone by the time you would have fed him again, give him more and increase the amount the next morning.
My first guess would be he's not getting enough to eat to poop as much as he probably should.

First of all, I'm very sorry for not replying! There were a lot of things to do for Christmas and New Year. Second, yes, there is a reason I hand feed him. He doesn't graze at all. Instead, he sleeps through the day in holes that he dug. I think there are a few reasons for that. We moved to North Carolina around five months ago, so could he still be adjusting to the move? I also think he might be trying to brumate since it is the winter. He eats a little to a decent amount, and eats a pretty good amount food if he gets hungry enough. He does sometimes poop in his soaks, but not as frequently as during the spring.

 

[TammyJ]

@wellington

 

[wellington]

What species is he and what does he sleep in at night?
What are your day temps there?
It's most likely too cold. They won't eat if to cold. He needs to bask under an area that reaches 95-100 to digest food unless he's a RedFoot. However, RF still need temps 75-85.
Post pics of him and the area he is living. Also any lights or heat you might use for him.
We also need your day and night temps.

 

[speedyTortoise]

What species is he and what does he sleep in at night?
What are your day temps there?
It's most likely too cold. They won't eat if to cold. He needs to bask under an area that reaches 95-100 to digest food unless he's a RedFoot. However, RF still need temps 75-85.
Post pics of him and the area he is living. Also any lights or heat you might use for him.
We also need your day and night temps.

He is a Russian tortoise. At night, he either digs a hole and sleeps in there or goes to his hide.
During the day, his basking spot is 95-100, the middle is around 80-90, and the cool side is 75-80. At night, the temperature never goes below 68.

 

[wellington]

Temps sound good. Sounds like he may be wanting to brumate. Get the night temps a little warmer at least 70. Also add some more lighting. Make it brighter to help keep him awake and not wanting to brumate.
Also, how old is he? If he is an adult or teen, he needs a bigger enclosure. A minimum of a 3 or 4x8.

 

[speedyTortoise]

Temps sound good. Sounds like he may be wanting to brumate. Get the night temps a little warmer at least 70. Also add some more lighting. Make it brighter to help keep him awake and not wanting to brumate.
Also, how old is he? If he is an adult or teen, he needs a bigger enclosure. A minimum of a 3 or 4x8.

He is 6-10 years old, we don't know for sure. We are working on getting him a bigger enclosure. His enclosure is right next to a window. Do you think the window does anything good for him, like making it brighter?

 

[wellington]

Yes, it doesn't give him UV but will make it brighter. Just be sure it's not making it too warm.

 

[MaNaAk]

Hello everyone, merry Christmas (almost)! My tortoise hasn't pooped for almost a week now. He is decently active, walking around a little but mostly digging, and has a good appetite. I feed him a small to medium amount of food in the morning and try to feed him in the afternoon if I can (feeding sessions take 30 minutes as I hand feed him). Should I be worried about this? Could he have ingested his substrate while he was digging? I am giving him a 40-60 minute bath every day now to get him to poop.

Try soaking in warm shallow water like I do with Jacky:

 

[JTH]

I'm not sure how relevant this is for Russian Tortoises, but my two always-hungry Red-footed Tortoises happily consume their own "poo" (to use the vernacular term). If I didn't occasionally catch them in "the act," I'd worry that they are "backed up" (to use another vernacular term). Waste not, want not?

 

[speedyTortoise]

Try soaking in warm shallow water like I do with Jacky:View attachment 365404

Yeah, I do that every other day or once in 3 days. Good news is that after a good hour in the bath on Friday, he finally pooped.

 

[speedyTortoise]

I'm not sure how relevant this is for Russian Tortoises, but my two always-hungry Red-footed Tortoises happily consume their own "poo" (to use the vernacular term). If I didn't occasionally catch them in "the act," I'd worry that they are "backed up" (to use another vernacular term). Waste not, want not?

He might actually be doing that! He eats a good amount of food every morning, but I never see any poo in his enclosure. I don’t even know when he gets a chance to eat his own poo as he is always buried in a hole when I check on him during the day.

 

[Sarah2020]

Yeah, I do that every other day or once in 3 days. Good news is that after a good hour in the bath on Friday, he finally pooped.

Soaks normally have good results !

 

[MaNaAk]

Also try taking them out in the car!