Question about a dirty bum...

[BurlingtonDarwin]

My new leopard tortoise has some... "Hangers on" in the bum area under his tail. Just looks,like a bit of dirt, might be poop.

Should I a: give him a bath in lukewarm water and hope it cleans itself (he had a bath yesterday)
B: use a a-tip or alternate option to help the process
Or c: leave it alone completely, it's a tortoise and this is normal...

 

[mike taylor]

You must keep there butts clean . I have heard there butt could get stopped up to where they can't poop . So keep the booty clean .

 

[stinax182]

i agree ^^^

soak her in warm water for 20 mins or until it falls off. you could use a qtip but it should come off on it's own. make sure the water stays warm or your tort could get sick.

 

[BurlingtonDarwin]

Thanks everyone. Gave him a bath and he had a big poop once he was in the water. There's still a. Bit of dirt(?) near the base of his tail. I gave it a swipe with the qtip to no avail (he wasn't too thrilled with this activity...). We'll bath again tomorrow and hope it just falls off.

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[BeeBee*BeeLeaves]

Yay, soaks are great for that, too. Plus I think the relaxing in the warm water sometimes really helps. I had a little leopard that was not quite right for a few days. I could tell he was not himself. The other day I put him in his soak, in a bowl with higher sides so he could not get out even if he tried, with warm water under the warm light and I decided to leave him there for an hour. Supervised, of course. Glad I did because boy did he poop. I think he had been constipated and just needed a little extra support to move things along. Worked like a charm. Tortoise and keeper, happy. : )

 

[Yvonne G]

I know it may offend your sense of propriety, but you MUST get that cling-on off. If you are truly averse to touching poop, then don your rubber gloves, but you must pick it off. In baby tortoises, if the poop dries and sticks and builds up around the cloaca, it inhibits his releasing any more fresh poop and I've seen babies die from this. So soak him a while in warm water to soften the cling-on, then just pick it off. You can then take a soft bristle brush, tooth brush, whatever, and gently scrub the tail and legs.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Good advice Yvonne.
2 of my recently passed hatchlings came to me with lots of "stuff" crusted in the cloaca opening

Soak, soak, soak and get that booty cleared