HELP! Turtle has runny poop!

[AliceTurtle]

Sooo.....today and yesterday my turtle (Pluto) has had really runny poop- as in its like water.
He's a Red Eared Slider, 12 years old ( He's my old baby ) and recently we got him these dry fish for him to eat. They are about 2.5 inches long, an he loves them. He has about 3 a day, then the next day he'll have some German sausage, and so on. He doesn't eat vegies. Bad boy

Anyway, whats wrong? The watery poop only started like...a day or so ago and we've had the new food for 2 weeks.

 

[ascott]

Sooo.....today and yesterday my turtle (Pluto) has had really runny poop- as in its like water.
He's a Red Eared Slider, 12 years old ( He's my old baby ) and recently we got him these dry fish for him to eat. They are about 2.5 inches long, an he loves them. He has about 3 a day, then the next day he'll have some German sausage, and so on. He doesn't eat vegies. Bad boy

Anyway, whats wrong? The watery poop only started like...a day or so ago and we've had the new food for 2 weeks.

German sausage? also, if you recently added a new item to the diet and the poo has changed....I would perhaps remove that item from the diet for at least 7-10 days and see if the poo returns to the way it was....and if yes, then likely that is your culprit....and if so..then perhaps decrease to one fish for a treat vs a meal...?

 

[AliceTurtle]

Ok! Thanks I'll make the fish a treat instead. He really loves them
His diet I've always fed him is:
German Sausage
Polish Sausage
Dried Shrimp
Turtle Pellets
The occasional fly
Mini Sardines

And thats about it

Is it okay that he doesn't eat vegies???? He just won't eat them

 

[ascott]

Ok! Thanks I'll make the fish a treat instead. He really loves them
His diet I've always fed him is:
German Sausage
Polish Sausage
Dried Shrimp
Turtle Pellets
The occasional fly
Mini Sardines

And thats about it

Is it okay that he doesn't eat vegies???? He just won't eat them

As RES age, they "usually" become more green eaters....however, if you are offering up the greasy sausages--he is likely addicted to the sausage....I am not telling you that you should not feed sausage (to be honest, I would never have thought of sausage as a food for a turtle)all of the other items seem good...again, please don't take offense about my concerns about the sausage...

 

[mike taylor]

I don't think the sausage is a good idea . But thats just me . I would stick to feeder fish and turtle foods . Try planting aquatic plants in your setup he'll come around .

 

[AliceTurtle]

Well.....he really adores sausage (especially german sausage) and it's not affecting his health, so....I don't know. I think I'll stick with the sausage I also specially cook the sausage for my turtle and stuff some carrot or lettuce in there That way he smells sausage but eats a bit of greens.

So I am not going to feed him the 2.5 inch fish for the rest of this week and see if that makes a difference to his poop.
Thanks for all your help so far

 

[Gillian M]

A warm welcome to the forum!

I've a very strong feeling that it's the sausages that are causing your tort's problem: torts are green eaters.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

I'm afraid I'm in the 'no sausage' camp too. Have you seen all the little white clumps inside a sausage? That's fat. Turtles don't need all that fat in their diet. You've had your baby for 12 years, and that's a very good thing, but I have to wonder how much longer he's going to live eating all that fat. Just because he likes it doesn't mean it's good for him. I really, really like chocolate candy. Enough said?

I'm not a veterinarian, so I have no idea what goes on inside a turtle's body, but that build up of fat inside his system might be causing the diarrhea. Buy some worms, crickets and minnows to feed him and see if it clears up. Also, you can float a cut piece of zucchini squash on the water along with a leaf of lettuce. If you can find a place that sells water plants, RES really love water hyacinth.

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

My RES's looooveee duckweed, too. It's cheap and it grows like CRAZY.
I also must agree with the sausageness... okay meats to feed are like pork and chicken which are lean and whole

 

[AliceTurtle]

Actually, he isn't eating the whole sausage, just the outside and the rest is stuffed with lettuce or carrot. But he's been in perfect health the time he's been eating sausages...and I think the 2.5 inch fish are the problem. I haven't fed him any now for 2 days and his poop appears to be fine. Should I keep feeding him the fish (once is a while as a treat ) or not???

 

[Yvonne G]

I would have to guess that the fish is the problem. Like with any diet change, you need to add a little at a time until his system can handle it.

 

[Anthony P]

I can see that you have trouble taking the constructive criticism, but I'm going to go ahead and answer this honestly anyway, with the health of this and other turtles in mind. This really isn't a debate, so there is no need to make it look like there are opinions on this matter. I don't mean to sound rude at all, but I want newbies to understand these things about one of the most commonly mistreated pets in the world.

Trachemys do not need animal protein past a certain point in their maturation. In fact, even lean meats can become an issue. These are turtles that cannot catch prey, so they are not feeding on large amounts of protein, really ever. They will take advantage of an opportunistic meal if animal cardio is found, but their natural habitats allow them to be vegetarian. Those habitats do not offer much protein, so they are opportunistic, taking advantage of such a meal should it present itself. So, your observation that your turtle prefers it is accurate, but that doesn't mean you won't kill your turtle.

For a sub-adult to adult Slider, even pellets should be offered less often than greens. Food items like a lean meat should be offered extremely sparingly, if at all.

You are doing the right thing, because you are here and because you are sharing your thoughts and accepting feedback. There is no debate here however, that should make it seem that it's ok to take a turtle that should live off plant matter, place it in a cage and feed it nothing but fatty proteins. I want to make sure we call a spade a spade and don't let other new Slider owners see this and think there is any merit in this practice. What you choose to do with the turtle from here is all up to you and might take some tough love, offering greens until he realizes that is now his dinner.

Good luck with everything and keep us updated. We'd love to help with absolutely anything we can.

Anthony

 

[mike taylor]

I can see that you have trouble taking the constructive criticism, but I'm going to go ahead and answer this honestly anyway, with the health of this and other turtles in mind. This really isn't a debate, so there is no need to make it look like there are opinions on this matter. I don't mean to sound rude at all, but I want newbies to understand these things about one of the most commonly mistreated pets in the world.

Trachemys do not need animal protein past a certain point in their maturation. In fact, even lean meats can become an issue. These are turtles that cannot catch prey, so they are not feeding on large amounts of protein, really ever. They will take advantage of an opportunistic meal if animal cardio is found, but their natural habitats allow them to be vegetarian. Those habitats do not offer much protein, so they are opportunistic, taking advantage of such a meal should it present itself. So, your observation that your turtle prefers it is accurate, but that doesn't mean you won't kill your turtle.

For a sub-adult to adult Slider, even pellets should be offered less often than greens. Food items like a lean meat should be offered extremely sparingly, if at all.

You are doing the right thing, because you are here and because you are sharing your thoughts and accepting feedback. There is no debate here however, that should make it seem that it's ok to take a turtle that should live off plant matter, place it in a cage and feed it nothing but fatty proteins. I want to make sure we call a spade a spade and don't let other new Slider owners see this and think there is any merit in this practice. What you choose to do with the turtle from here is all up to you and might take some tough love, offering greens until he realizes that is now his dinner.

Good luck with everything and keep us updated. We'd love to help with absolutely anything we can.

Anthony

Well said!

 

[Moozillion]

I agree with mike taylor: very nicely said!!!!