Concerning poop

E

EdmontonABgirl

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I am a new ish tortoise mom. I was given a 5 year old male sulcata from a previous owner. He is healthy now but was dehydrated and skinny when he came to me. He has been with me since june, so 8-9 months.

He pooped this eveing and it has me worried. Normally he has firm poop. This seems to be mucus. I thought blood at first but checked it is brown. His eyes are bright and he did eat and drink today.

Diet is currently zoomed pellets, grass, pumpkin, squash and carrot tops. Summer is more variety, but in northern canada is hard to source good food. He was on a 5 week hunger strike when he started to hibernate. The vet told me that was normal. He cane back out 3-4 days ago. This is his first poop since the start of hibernation.

He was at the reptile specific vet many times when he first came to me. I am willing to take him again if necessary. But it is freezing here.

His heat and lighting are set perfectly.

Please give me advise. Kindly

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Yvonne G

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That's ok. It looks like you've hit the trifecta - poop, urine and urates. Perfectly ok.
 

TOOTSIESMOM

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I am a new ish tortoise mom. I was given a 5 year old male sulcata from a previous owner. He is healthy now but was dehydrated and skinny when he came to me. He has been with me since june, so 8-9 months.

He pooped this eveing and it has me worried. Normally he has firm poop. This seems to be mucus. I thought blood at first but checked it is brown. His eyes are bright and he did eat and drink today.

Diet is currently zoomed pellets, grass, pumpkin, squash and carrot tops. Summer is more variety, but in northern canada is hard to source good food. He was on a 5 week hunger strike when he started to hibernate. The vet told me that was normal. He cane back out 3-4 days ago. This is his first poop since the start of hibernation.

He was at the reptile specific vet many times when he first came to me. I am willing to take him again if necessary. But it is freezing here.

His heat and lighting are set perfectly.

Please give me advise. Kindly

View attachment 285301
I don't have a sulcata, and am by no means an expert and also fairly new to tortoises myself, but aside from the poop question you stated that this tortoise just came out of a hibernation. It is my understanding that sulcata tortoises are not a brumating/hibernating species.
 

Yvonne G

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Oh gosh! I have a bad habit of skimming and I missed that. Tootsie's mom is 100% correct. If your new tortoise slows down like that again, it's probably because he's not warm enough. Sulcatas eat and march and poop every day. If you don't see that in your tortoise something's wrong.
 

Markw84

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That poop does not look normal to me. The mucous look would cause me to take a fecal sample to the vet as it is a very common sign of a high flagellate or protozoan load. But reading your accounting leads me to another probably cause:

Sulcatas do not and can not hibernate. They certainly shut down when kept too cold but they are not hibernating or brumating, they are slowly dying. The food in their gut will begin to rot and enteritis is likely to follow. That could also be some of what you are seeing in the feces now. Some sulcatas pull out of this cold stupor and recover, so people think its OK, they've survived it before. But it is taking a huge risk at the sulcata's expense.
 

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