Tortoise poop? :x

[muddled]

Sorry for the random question, but I was horrified at what I saw... I've had my hatchling for a little over a month now, and a few times now I've caught him eating his own poop. I don't know why, he's pretty well-fed... even if he's eating something he loves (strawberries and hibiscus) he'll always go for the poop. Clean-up time at his enclosure is always poop-less (ahaaaa) so I'm guessing he's been cleaning up himself. This is very gross, but is it harmful for him? :x How can I make it stop?

 

[Crazy1]

Many torts often eat their own poo. No it is not harmful if they are eating their own. However eating dog or cat or bird poo can be hazardous to their health.

In the wild a hatchling will eat adult tort poo to get needed minerals and bacteria. So it is really not that gross if you look at it that way. And they will also eat poo to get the additional nutrients out of it, kinda like recycling. My suggestion is to feed it a good nutritious diet and perhaps add some added nutrients to it like TNT. I am not sure their is anything you can do to stop it, short of picking it up before he has a chance to eat it.

 

[Madortoise]

Thank you for posting this. I was worried about my Penelope's fixation. I have not caught her (California DT) eat her own but she seeks for cat poo in the yard. In wild, I heard that DTs could eat wildcats and animals' poos to absorb calcium or whatever was not digested needed for nutrition--but those animals eat all natural stuff. Who knows what cats in the hood that come into our yard eat--processed cat food?? This is the reason why I cannot leave her alone in the back yard even if I want her to roam around. With her powerful nostril blowing action, she always manage to find some remains of dried out cat poo even passing by her other favorites such as aloe, grape leaves, rose petals and hibiscus... Should i be concerned? Any comments people?