Tortoise poop

[Ian555]

Hi all tort seems to being really well changed her diet and she eats loads
Cause for concern is she is not pooping frequently
Ive had her about 6 wks and have only seen 2 solid poops theres been a few in her water sloppy ones in her bowl
Temps are good diets ok shes out and about for 3/4 hours a day i am bathing her every other day in warm water
Any ideas ???

 

[JoesMum]

What goes in comes out. The more they eat then the more they poop.

However, for small torts, it is incredibly easy to miss poop in the enclosure.

As long as your tort is eating and normally active then I wouldn't worry too much. Keep soaking to make sure dehydration isn't a factor.

 

[Ian555]

She is not exactly small as she is 5/6 yrs old and the poop i have seen are quite large ill keep soaking her to ensure not dehydrated how long do u soak for i do about 3/4 mins then she wants to get out dont wont to stress her
I spoke to her previous owner and she had the scme concern although did not do anything about it

 

[Yvonne G]

My leopards poop quite a bit - daily. They sit in one spot and poop out several large cigars...while the sulcata poops his out while he's walking.

Does your leopard tortoise eat grass and weeds? The fiber helps them get regular.

 

[Ian555]

Sorry 1 more thing how often do you see your tort drink
Ive only seen mine drink 1 time
Regards
Ian

 

[Ian555]

I think she never ate alot of grass where she was before
But now when she comes out for the adternoon she has a good munch on the lawn she has dandys in her diet
Im feeding her
Small bit of kale
Small bit romane lettuce
Spinach leaves
Brocoli
Pak choy
Spring greens
dandys
Cabbage
Mustad leaves
Water cress
She has all tjis in one meal do upu seecanything wrong here ??
Theres alot of greens maybe should add something

 

[JoesMum]

She is not exactly small as she is 5/6 yrs old and the poop i have seen are quite large ill keep soaking her to ensure not dehydrated how long do u soak for i do about 3/4 mins then she wants to get out dont wont to stress her
I spoke to her previous owner and she had the scme concern although did not do anything about it

That's nowhere near long enough.

Soak for at least 30 minutes in a high sided bowl that your tort can't see through or over.

The water should be warm, not hot (think baby bath) and come just over the line between the shell and the plastron.

Don't let her out if she scrabbles. It'll encourage pooping. If she poops then scoop it out with your hand. If she pees ignore it. If the water goes cold then change it.

Do it first thing in the morning before your tort is wArmed up properly and it's more likely to be successful.

 

[Ian555]

Great ill try that 2 moz morning then ill let you know how it goes
Im expecting a big one
Lol

 

[Yvonne G]

If you use a container that she can't get out of, scrambling around in the water, trying to escape, does wonders for releasing the poop.

 

[Ian555]

Brill im gona get up earlier and give it a go
Rdgards
Ian

 

[GingerLove]

Also, try giving her pumpkin or aloe plant. Once my tortoise wasn't pooping for a very long time... I'm pretty sure she had a bladder stone. But with soaking and frequent pumpkin snacks, she was good to go!

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Failing that, take the tort out for a bit of a drive in the car.
That usually does the trick.

 

[Ian555]

A drive in the car
Really ?? How does that help ??
Lol

 

[JoesMum]

A drive in the car
Really ?? How does that help ??
Lol

Stress probably.

Put it this way, when I had to take Joe to the vet I had no problem providing a fresh poop sample for checking for worms.

I actually put him in a plastic crate lined with newspapers if I have I have to transport him by car... and have spare papers for the trip back. A 3.5kg tort can do A LOT of poop!

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

A drive in the car
Really ?? How does that help ??
Lol

yeah, i'm not kidding (for a change).
But leave it til the last resort as I believe the torts hate it and it upsets them, hence the pooing and peeing.

 

[Ian555]

Wel. Lets hope the bath works 2 moz
I dont think shes stressed she only with us for about 3/4 hrs a day and walks up to us and eats frequently in the garden in front of us and does not seem shy atall
Ill post what happens if nothing we can go for a drive 2 moz
Thanks all for afvice

 

[JoesMum]

Wel. Lets hope the bath works 2 moz
I dont think shes stressed she only with us for about 3/4 hrs a day and walks up to us and eats frequently in the garden in front of us and does not seem shy atall
Ill post what happens if nothing we can go for a drive 2 moz
Thanks all for afvice

I'd give it a week of soaks before resorting to a drive

 

[Neal]

A long long soak would probably be the most effective option in my opinion. I've had them soaking for as long as an hour. It does seem to stress them a bit, but if my concern is that a tortoise isn't pooping I can tolerate a bit of stress since I perceive the benefits of pooping are greater than the downside of stress from being in a tub of water for an extended period of time.

For reference, my leopard tortoises poop an average of once a day. I do have one that probably poops once or twice a week, and it's usually a large mess. She is the exception though.

 

[Gillian M]

Sorry 1 more thing how often do you see your tort drink
Ive only seen mine drink 1 time
Regards
Ian

Personally, I watch and see Oli drinking while being soaked. However, at the same time, there's always water available in his enclosure.

 

[Ian555]

Mine hasnt pooped for about 3 weeks the last one was big
I spoke to previous owner and dhe ssid thats how dhe is
I feel something wrong but shes really sctive and ests shed loads ill keep soaking her see what happens
Thanks
Ill post when i get a result