Tortoise only poops when soaked

Chris_Johnson18

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I’ve had my tortoise for a few weeks now and for the first few weeks, he’s been pooping in his cage as normal, but around Tuesday of last week I’ve noticed that he had stopped pooping completely. After about two days of watching him and doing research, I realized that soaking him was the move and believe it or not he started pooping again. However, he still refuses to poop in his cage and only poops when I soak him every night. His cage is the proper size and usually stays at around 85 degrees with a heat and UVB bulb, but he stills refuses to poop in his water dish. Is there anything else I should do?
 

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Sarah2020

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This has a lot to do with diet and overall environment. I agree bath time can get messy with lots of poo and urate. The other favourite place is on the freshly made food! As long as you have fresh water 24 x7 and good variety of fresh green food and blooms I would let it happen when it happens.
 

Chris_Johnson18

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Yeah, i’m pretty sure that his water dish is a little too small for his likings so we’ll get one that’s a little wider and deeper for him to feel more comfortable in
 

Golden Greek Tortoise 567

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Looks like you have a full grown russian, he will definitely need more space. At least 8ft by 4ft. Only 50% of uvb will pass through the mesh at the top, read this care sheet...
 

Minority2

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I’ve had my tortoise for a few weeks now and for the first few weeks, he’s been pooping in his cage as normal, but around Tuesday of last week I’ve noticed that he had stopped pooping completely. After about two days of watching him and doing research, I realized that soaking him was the move and believe it or not he started pooping again. However, he still refuses to poop in his cage and only poops when I soak him every night. His cage is the proper size and usually stays at around 85 degrees with a heat and UVB bulb, but he stills refuses to poop in his water dish. Is there anything else I should do?

The enclosure you tortoise is in looks small to me. Tortoise need space not only to explore, roam, and exercise but also because they need large areas with different temperature zones to allow them to thermoregulate instead of always being cooped staying right by the basking spot.

Not pooping can be the cause of a variety of reasons stemming from nothing to something. It's hard to really know why unless members know everything about your enclosure setup. That means specific light bulb types, their exact name and web link to the product page if a picture of the bulb is not included. Temperature and humidity levels (basking, hot, cold, ambient) and lots of pictures of the enclosure, lighting fixtures, and close ups of the tortoise.

1. How late do you soak your tortoise? Is your tortoise following a normal day schedule? What is the tortoise's typical day schedule?

2. What type of foods are you feeding it? What more of? What less of?

3. Your substrate level is far too low for that species of tortoise. Russians love to burrow. They need to burrow. Try to achieve at least 4-6 inches deep.

4. The stick on measuring gauge you have can be wildly inaccurate. Never rely on them. Purchase a digital version instead in order to get a more accurate reading. Don't buy reptile branded ones. Save your money and purchase either a weather or food branded temperature/hygrometer. They're often cheaper and more durable than the generic pet versions. Unless you wish to splurge on the expensive pet version than by all means do whatever you think works for you.

5. What specific type of uv(B) bulb are you using? We need to visual see the bulb type, not just fixture.
 

Chris_Johnson18

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We typically soak him a couple hours after his first meal everyday so that would be about 3PM.
He’s meal consists of baby carrots, egg yolks, and basic greens with the exception of a cut up raspberry every now and then (powdered calcium and vitamins are also added) And here is a photo of his UVB
 

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Minority2

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We typically soak him a couple hours after his first meal everyday so that would be about 3PM.
He’s meal consists of baby carrots, egg yolks, and basic greens with the exception of a cut up raspberry every now and then (powdered calcium and vitamins are also added) And here is a photo of his UVB

The bulb pictured is a type this forum will not recommend because they're unsafe for tortoises. That's the short version of the story. The bad affected ones will blind tortoises if exposed long enough.

You need to replace that with a T5 fixture which is a long length light fixture with a tubular styled uv(B) reptile rated bulb. Reptisun and Arcadia makes the most reliable bulbs. You can save some money by purchasing a generic T5 grow light with a good reflector or just buy the Arcadia pro T5 kit that comes with the fixture and bulb.

The diet choice you're offering is also too rich for the tortoise species you have. Russian aren't able to process sugars and animal protein as well as say a Redfoot tortoise can. Stick with broad leaf plants/weeds, flowers, and succulents. No fruit because people that do that aren't really doing the tortoise any favors. That's just for the human benefit.

Use this link and other guides found in your thread to learn more about what correct items to feed your tortoise:

You can buy seed mixes, cactus cuttings, mixed packages of weeds and flowers from online tortoise retailers. Supermarkets don't have enough variety of dense fibrous plants this species of tortoise requires in their diet.
 

VJRDuran

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Brooklyn Park
I’ve had my tortoise for a few weeks now and for the first few weeks, he’s been pooping in his cage as normal, but around Tuesday of last week I’ve noticed that he had stopped pooping completely. After about two days of watching him and doing research, I realized that soaking him was the move and believe it or not he started pooping again. However, he still refuses to poop in his cage and only poops when I soak him every night. His cage is the proper size and usually stays at around 85 degrees with a heat and UVB bulb, but he stills refuses to poop in his water dish. Is there anything else I should do?
We are lucky enough to be home during the day. We've had our RT since the beginning of April, and through the summer we've established a routine for him. Mid-morning we take him outside to our big back yard and give him time to walk around. We chose that time of day because that is part of his natural routine. Most days, during the time he is outside he will leave his toilet. The outside temperature and humidity will determine how long he is outside before he starts walking and does his duty.
 

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