Tortoise having issues going to the bathroom

[ZamTheMan]

I see this already as a common issue, but I usually feel better when I get answers for my own situation.

My sulcata (don't know the age since we rescued her, estimating 1-3 years old. She's roughly 12" in length if that's any indication) ate a clump of hair from when we were brushing the dogs outside. I usually end up playing tortoise wrangler and have to take various things out of her mouth, but she must have swallowed more hair than I saw or something, since she hasn't been able to go to the bathroom in days. Occasionally she will make noises of discomfort which breaks my heart. Her behavior is mostly normal. She walks, she has energy, she eats a little, not as much as normal but she eats nonetheless. She usually gets on her back legs and tries to push the uh... Blockage out, to no avail. However, a few instances she's squeezed out some hairs and I'm assuming peed, leaving small pieces of hair in the liquid, but still no poo. We've tried pumpkin, zucchini, apple, strawberry, even mineral oil (though it wasn't a lot, need to go to the store).

She walks for several hours a day depending on the weather, and I've started giving her longer soaks, 30-60min at a time, twice a day, or at least until she gets fussy and tries to get out of the tub. What I'm asking is there anything else I can do before needing a vet? I don't want to keep feeding one end with nothing coming out the other so I'm afraid to give her more food outside of more pumpkin or greens laced with mineral oil. When I take her outside she usually ends up eating whatever butter leaves she comes across, clover too, so she's not lethargic, and still eats, something I haven't seen so far in related threads. A couple of people I read said their torts didn't pass anything for up to 5-6 weeks, and it's been less than a week since these issues started for my Gamera. If anyone has any advice, I would greatly appreciate it.

 

[Yvonne G]

Feed wet foods like cactus and aloe. Soak often. Spread some mineral oil on a leaf of romaine then roll up the leaf like a tightly rolled cigar and hold it, feeding to the tortoise from the end. Never give mineral oil unless its on food because they can't feel it and may aspirate it into their lungs.

 

[teresaf]

Are you sure she's a she? Maybe she's a he? Males do weird stuff....

 

[ZamTheMan]

Feed wet foods like cactus and aloe. Soak often. Spread some mineral oil on a leaf of romaine then roll up the leaf like a tightly rolled cigar and hold it, feeding to the tortoise from the end. Never give mineral oil unless its on food because they can't feel it and may aspirate it into their lungs.

That's basically everything I've been doing thus far. We have nice big butter leaves in our yard she adores and have been spreading mineral oil on them. She eats them like nothing is wrong so she still has quite the appetite despite her issues. I'll more than likely be soaking her soon and will be doing it at least twice today for as long as she's willing to cooperate.

 

[ZamTheMan]

Are you sure she's a she? Maybe she's a he? Males do weird stuff....

We weren't sure for the longest time but I took her to a reptile expo that goes on here bi-monthly and a guy picked her up and instantly knew she was a she. Reading some articles and looking at pictures also tells me she's a she by how her shell is shaped around her behind.

 

[Tom]

Sounds like you are doing everything that you should be doing, but a couple things come to mind:
1. As Yvonne already suggested, get some opuntia, (Called Nopales at Mexican grocery store.) and get her to eat some. That lubes them right up. Aloe will work to, but some tortoises are more reluctant to eat it as much.
2. Leave the tortoise in the soaking water after she gets fussy. That marching movement helps to get things moving. An hour or two won't hurt a thing. We have a member here who soaks his small sulcata in a large kiddie pool for 5-6 hours at a time, simulating the hot wet rainy season, and his tortoises thrive.
2a. Put the tortoise in a large plastic tub and go for a car ride. That will usually break things loose too. Make sure there are no leaks in the bottom of your tub...
3. One mouthful of dog hair is not enough to block up the tortoise. I don't think 10 mouthfuls would do it for a well fed tortoise like yours.
4. If I had a dollar for every time someone was wrong about the sex of a tortoise… This didn't occur to me until I read Teresa's post, but she is right on the money there. It can sometimes be difficult to tell on a young tortoise. Most of them look female-ish when they are juveniles. Around 12" is when the males start "doing their thing" and getting frisky. Post a pic of the anal scutes and tail and let us have a go at guessing. I'll explain more when I see the pic.

 

[ZamTheMan]

Sounds like you are doing everything that you should be doing, but a couple things come to mind:
1. As Yvonne already suggested, get some opuntia, (Called Nopales at Mexican grocery store.) and get her to eat some. That lubes them right up. Aloe will work to, but some tortoises are more reluctant to eat it as much.
2. Leave the tortoise in the soaking water after she gets fussy. That marching movement helps to get things moving. An hour or two won't hurt a thing. We have a member here who soaks his small sulcata in a large kiddie pool for 5-6 hours at a time, simulating the hot wet rainy season, and his tortoises thrive.
2a. Put the tortoise in a large plastic tub and go for a car ride. That will usually break things loose too. Make sure there are no leaks in the bottom of your tub...
3. One mouthful of dog hair is not enough to block up the tortoise. I don't think 10 mouthfuls would do it for a well fed tortoise like yours.
4. If I had a dollar for every time someone was wrong about the sex of a tortoise… This didn't occur to me until I read Teresa's post, but she is right on the money there. It can sometimes be difficult to tell on a young tortoise. Most of them look female-ish when they are juveniles. Around 12" is when the males start "doing their thing" and getting frisky. Post a pic of the anal scutes and tail and let us have a go at guessing. I'll explain more when I see the pic.

I'm not sure if our local stores have that but I'll make sure to try and check. We had more mineral oil than I was left to believe and got her to eat more leaves laced with it this morning, so hopefully that stuff will help make it easier on her.

The only reason I take her out is because I worry about stressing her out, making her feel trapped and such, but I have no issues leaving her in the tub longer to get her moving. I can't even take her outside today since it's rainy and cold so some exercise despite the situation might do her good. When I took her to the reptile expo as I mentioned earlier, the whole thing sort of stressed or excited her to the point she went everything in her carrier. Number 1, 2, and 3 (I call urate #3), so maybe a ride or something new might help loosen something up, if not today given the cruddy weather, tomorrow.

If a mouthful of hair isn't the issue, I can't think of what the problem is, unless it's just sitting in her a funny way, causing a blockage. I've already had the good fortune of pulling some hairs free from her rear end, and this started the day after she ate some hair. She doesn't eat her substrate I know that for a fact, and I watch her outside and the only thing she really manages to eat outside I would consider bad is poop, dog or her own, which also wouldn't cause this constipation. The weather has been fine as well, so it's not a lack of activity either since she's been outside almost every day for 3-6 hours each time.

I'll try and take a pic when I next give her a soak, though she's at the point I can't hold her in one hand unless I keep her under my arm like a football helmet.

 

[Tom]

I'm not sure if our local stores have that but I'll make sure to try and check. We had more mineral oil than I was left to believe and got her to eat more leaves laced with it this morning, so hopefully that stuff will help make it easier on her.

The only reason I take her out is because I worry about stressing her out, making her feel trapped and such, but I have no issues leaving her in the tub longer to get her moving. I can't even take her outside today since it's rainy and cold so some exercise despite the situation might do her good. When I took her to the reptile expo as I mentioned earlier, the whole thing sort of stressed or excited her to the point she went everything in her carrier. Number 1, 2, and 3 (I call urate #3), so maybe a ride or something new might help loosen something up, if not today given the cruddy weather, tomorrow.

If a mouthful of hair isn't the issue, I can't think of what the problem is, unless it's just sitting in her a funny way, causing a blockage. I've already had the good fortune of pulling some hairs free from her rear end, and this started the day after she ate some hair. She doesn't eat her substrate I know that for a fact, and I watch her outside and the only thing she really manages to eat outside I would consider bad is poop, dog or her own, which also wouldn't cause this constipation. The weather has been fine as well, so it's not a lack of activity either since she's been outside almost every day for 3-6 hours each time.

I'll try and take a pic when I next give her a soak, though she's at the point I can't hold her in one hand unless I keep her under my arm like a football helmet.

1. Mineral oil is good.
2. Don't worry about stressing "her" out in the soak. Sulcatas are not easily stressed and that is the least of your worries. If it is cold and rainy outside, use the bathtub inside. The slippery surface usually makes them march a lot, and it is that locomotion that helps get things in the GI tract moving.
3. Pre-heat the car, and take that ride. The weather doesn't matter in a warm car. Anytime I'm transporting a tortoise in cold weather, I tell everyone in the car to strip down to a t-shirt. "Its going to be hot in the car. Bring water. You will sweat and get thirsty."
4. It takes at least several days and sometimes weeks for things to move through a tortoises GI tract. The hair you pulled out was not ingested the day you pulled it, or the day before.
5. Eating dog poop could cause several problems, including constipation. That should not be allowed. The dog(s) should not have access to the tortoise area and vice versa. If your dog is on any kind of ingestible wormer or flea products, the poop could kill your tortoise.
6. Easiest way to get a pic is to have one person hold the tortoise by the sides and point the head up toward the sky and the second person snaps a pic straight on to the plastron. Make sure we can see the tail in your pic.

 

[ZamTheMan]

1. Mineral oil is good.
2. Don't worry about stressing "her" out in the soak. Sulcatas are not easily stressed and that is the least of your worries. If it is cold and rainy outside, use the bathtub inside. The slippery surface usually makes them march a lot, and it is that locomotion that helps get things in the GI tract moving.
3. Pre-heat the car, and take that ride. The weather doesn't matter in a warm car. Anytime I'm transporting a tortoise in cold weather, I tell everyone in the car to strip down to a t-shirt. "Its going to be hot in the car. Bring water. You will sweat and get thirsty."
4. It takes at least several days and sometimes weeks for things to move through a tortoises GI tract. The hair you pulled out was not ingested the day you pulled it, or the day before.
5. Eating dog poop could cause several problems, including constipation. That should not be allowed. The dog(s) should not have access to the tortoise area and vice versa. If your dog is on any kind of ingestible wormer or flea products, the poop could kill your tortoise.
6. Easiest way to get a pic is to have one person hold the tortoise by the sides and point the head up toward the sky and the second person snaps a pic straight on to the plastron. Make sure we can see the tail in your pic.

The only reasons she even gets a chance to eat the dog poop is usually when she finds them buried in the grass. I swear she has radar for the stuff.

We'll try taking her for a ride as soon as we have a chance to. Til then I'm going to try soaking her again. Poor thing is groaning with discomfort.

Here's a pic of her uh, behind as you asked. Had to get it by myself since no one else is home at the moment. If that's not a good one I'll get another after her soak.

 

[Tom]

I swear she has radar for the stuff.

Not radar. Just a sense of smell.

 

[Tom]

Here's a pic of her uh, behind as you asked. Had to get it by myself since no one else is home at the moment. If that's not a good one I'll get another after her soak.

Your tortoise is too young to sex. Its in that transitional phase where it could go either way. The tail is too short to be male, but its too long and pointy to be the typical female nub too. The anal scutes look like they are starting to round out into the typical female "U", but on the other hand they are also spread very wide into the typical male "V".

Are you seeing any concavity on the plastron, or is it still flat as a board?

How about the gulars? Have they grown much recently?

This might be constipation, but I'm not willing to rule out the adolescent male friskiness thing yet either. I'd proceed with the plan to fix the constipation. If its not constipation, all the things you are doing will cause no harm.

 

[ZamTheMan]

Your tortoise is too young to sex. Its in that transitional phase where it could go either way. The tail is too short to be male, but its too long and pointy to be the typical female nub too. The anal scutes look like they are starting to round out into the typical female "U", but on the other hand they are also spread very wide into the typical male "V".

Are you seeing any concavity on the plastron, or is it still flat as a board?

How about the gulars? Have they grown much recently?

This might be constipation, but I'm not willing to rule out the adolescent male friskiness thing yet either. I'd proceed with the plan to fix the constipation. If its not constipation, all the things you are doing will cause no harm.

I had to look up what those words meant. Gamera's belly is pretty flat, and the gulars, which I'm assuming are the points near where their head is have been pretty pointed but haven't grown much as of late as far as I can tell.

I know for a fact it's constipation because they haven't pooped in days and have been trying to go for just as long, their rear end in the air, tail swinging, trying to push out the blockage. Gamera's even been groaning with discomfort. I'm just hoping it won't take the weeks I've seen such problems resolve because then I will only worry more about them getting sick in other ways.

 

[Pearly]

Tom knows best, but for now I'd say: "girl"

 

[ZamTheMan]

Update: so far nothing still. I've been giving her roughly 2 soaks a day in nice warm water for hours at a time, taking her outside for exercise for 3-6 hours each time if the weather holds out (been rainy and cold the past 2 days but nice today), given her pumpkin, butter leaves laced with mineral oil, watermelon, strawberries, apples, and cucumber (which she didn't seem to care for). We even took her for a car ride and let her walk around the local park afterwards (they don't put crap in their grass considering it was riddled with weeds), and still no poop. She's been peeing every so often but that's about it, and she's still trying to poop but nothing substantial comes out. She'll still eat too, mostly when she's outside though. Seeing as that this is a common problem, when can I expect this issue to resolve itself? If it does I mean. I'd rather avoid a vet visit considering there are no specialty vets around here. I see some people saying it can take weeks for things to clear up, but it's been roughly a week now and I'm worried sick. Is there anything else I can do or do I have to wait this out and keep doing what I'm doing until she goes?

 

[Bee62]

This is the point you must take your tort to a VET. ASAP, before he gets really sick.
Try to find one who is familiar with reptiles.

 

[ZamTheMan]

This is the point you must take your tort to a VET. ASAP, before he gets really sick.
Try to find one who is familiar with reptiles.

If that is the case, if I can find one, what would a vet do?

 

[Bee62]

If that is the case, if I can find one, what would a vet do?

I think a VET would take an x-ray to see what is "wrong". If it is really "only" constipation a VET can inject oil direcly in the stomach of the tortoise, much more oil than he can get with food.
I am not sure about reptiles, but if a mammal is constipated there are special medicaments to make them digest easier.