Seems like my Indian star tortoise is sick

mihir94

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May 6, 2017
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Hello!
This is the first time I am posting anything. I got my Indian star tortoise a year back. And everything was fine up till now. It seems that he got diarrhoea but I can't really tell. Theres some green stuff coming out of his tail. But doesn't seem like his regular poop. Need help!
 

mihir94

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May 6, 2017
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Hello,
I have an Indian star tortoise. I got him a year back. But it seems like it got diarrhoea. I soaked her in like warm water. And gave her some wet food. Since diarrhoea causes dehydration. Anything I should do?
 

Korall

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Well, pictures of him and his enclosure would help.

What do you normally feed him?

Also, if you can you should take your tortoise to a vet that specializes in reptiles.
 

eric joranson

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yes; photos of enclosure including light and heating units would be helpful. Even a photo of the loose stool matter could be helpful. What are you using for substrate? Is it kept inside or outside. Is this the only tortoise; or are there others; possibly other species Knowing its diet would help. What kind of plants does it get in contact with? Too much of the wrong food can cause loose stools. If you go to vet; be sure to try and get a current sample of fecal material; so they can determine if there are parasites; which can also cause loose off color; stools. How is its appetite? Has in decreased since onset? Is it active? Yes loose stools can cause dehydration; so do keep up its daily soaks. I know this is alot of questions; but it helps to narrow down the cause; which is needed before knowing what is best to treat it.
 

Yvonne G

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There are different things that cause diarrhea, but if it's associated with diet, you can add more fiber to firm up the feces. (Fiber = plant matter and grass)
 

mihir94

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Thank you so much. She's better now.
Could you suggest some more stuff I could add to her diet. Right now she's eating carrots, spinach leaves, coriander leaves and sometimes lady finger (being her favourite). I tried feeding her grass and hibiscus. But she never ate it.
 
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Thank you so much. She's better now.
Could you suggest some more stuff I could add to her diet. Right now she's eating carrots, spinach leaves, coriander leaves and sometimes lady finger (being her favourite). I tried feeding her grass and hibiscus. But she never ate it.
I wouldn't recommend feeding spinach.
 

Gillian M

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A very warm welcome to the forum, @mihir94 .

Looking forward to see pics of your tort and hope he/she is now better.
 
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The secret to a good diet is having VARIED Diet. It's always best to give your tortoises a good wide range of weeds, flowers, succulents, cacti, leaves, fruits, grasses, and plants. I like to feed all My Tortoises some safe weeds around the yard that are safe to eat. For example, Dandelion plant & flowers, plantain, Bermuda grass, hibiscus flowers and leaves, safe succulents, spineless prickly pear, and alfalfa. ect..
A good varied diet is key to a healthy diet! I would not recommend only feeding commercial store bought tortoises food. Lettuce, kale, spinach and carrots, are also not good for their diet (you can feed them this as a treat. If you feed it to them regularly they can get addicted, and quiet hard to get them to eat other foods). In the wild they are grazing on different plants. So we should as much as possible try to mimic how they eat in the wild. Try
to mix it up.
Here's a very good website which helps you identify the plants that are safe for your tortoises to eat: http://www.thetortoisetable.org
I Hope this helped!

If you have anymore questions feel free to ask!
 
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