Gross poop question sorry!

elliotmarie

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Gross question sorry!!

So my guy has been pooping like a ton lol. Multiple times almost every time I get him out and today it was just a ton. I didn’t even soak him but he kept pooping and I think he finally peed? Some of it was kinda stringy, could he be eating the coconut fiber? He just pooped so much today and it was a little different than normal I’m a few ways and I’m worried. So sorry this is gross and that it has a picture ?

AB2D6D47-CE73-4B5B-A83B-E28D9AAF6055.jpeg
 

Blackdog1714

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1. How old and what kind of tortoise?
2. What are you feeding?
Those are just for specifics but looks fine and I bet it stinks!
 

elliotmarie

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1. How old and what kind of tortoise?
2. What are you feeding?
Those are just for specifics but looks fine and I bet it stinks!
Totally spaced about putting that so sorry!! He’s a Russian tortoise and I’ve had him less than two weeks. Our guess is an adult but not totally sure. He gets different types of lettuce right now as we don’t have safe weeds and two days ago he got a viola as a treat
 

Blackdog1714

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My Russian lives plantain the weed and dandelions. Pansy is nice too we are still waiting for the hibiscus to come in fully
 

Tom

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Do you have any sphagnum moss in the enclosure?

There is a lot of misinformation on tortoise care and feeding out there. Its daunting for new people. Their primary diet should be broadleaf weeds. Romaine has little nutrition, low ca and low fiber, kale has compounds that are bad for them in excess. Grocery store greens can work, but you need to add stuff to them to make them better. Soaked Zoomed Grassland pellets, blended up soaked grass hay, Mazuri, herbal hay from tortoisessupply.com, and Will @Kapidolo Farms has all kinds of dried leaves that you can mix in with your romaine to make it a better food for your tortoise.

Find sources of weeds and things growing locally in safe areas that aren't chemically treated. Looks for signs of insect life. Ants nearby, spider webs, holes chewed in the leaves, etc... Learn to ID your local weeds. Soon the mulberry leaves and grape vine leaves will be back. Find some established sources for those. Get some opuntia pads and plant them in pots if you have no safe areas outside for them.

You can also set up an indoor rack system with LED plant bulbs and trays of soil, and start growing your own stuff from seed.

There are sooooo many things you can do that would be better than buying food at the grocery store. Here is a small starter list of good tortoise foods:
Mulberry leaves
Grape vine leaves
Hibiscus leaves
African hibiscus leaves
Blue hibiscus leaves
Rose of Sharon leaves
Rose leaves
Geraniums
Gazanias
Lavatera
Pansies
Petunias
Hostas
Honeysuckle
Cape honeysuckle
Leaves and blooms from any squash plant, like pumpkin, cucumber, summer squash, etc...
Young spineless opuntia cactus pads

Weeds:
There are soooooooo many...
Dandelion
Mallow
Filaree
Smooth Sow thistle
Prickly Sow thistle
Milk thistle
Goat head weed
Cats ear
Nettles
Trefoil
Wild onion
Wild mustard
Wild Garlic
Clovers
Broadleaf plantain
Narrow leaf plantain
Chick weed
Hawksbit
Hensbit
Hawksbeard

Other good stuff:
"Testudo Seed Mix" from http://www.tortoisesupply.com/SeedMixes
Pasture mixes or other seeds from http://www.groworganic.com/seeds.html
Homegrown alfalfa
Mazuri Tortoise Chow
ZooMed Grassland Tortoise Food
 

LaLaP

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That amount of stringyness looks normal. He could have been dehydrated and a bit constipated before you got him and now he's feeling better and pooping a lot. That was the case with one of my Russians. He pooped an insane amount for the first month and finally he got it all out and just poops 2-3 times a week now. Could it be that he didn't have access to water or get soaked before you got him?
 

elliotmarie

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That amount of stringyness looks normal. He could have been dehydrated and a bit constipated before you got him and now he's feeling better and pooping a lot. That was the case with one of my Russians. He pooped an insane amount for the first month and finally he got it all out and just poops 2-3 times a week now. Could it be that he didn't have access to water or get soaked before you got him?
It totally could! I found him at a pet store and after watching him for a week and I loved him so much I wound up getting him. I’ve only had him about a week and a half and I’m sure he wasn’t taken care of. They said 5 month old male.... at 269 grams he’s a full grown SHE so I doubt there was any real care.
 

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