- Joined
- Dec 19, 2015
- Messages
- 122
Hi.
I'm aware that tortoise hatchlings (mine is a 5-6month Hermann's, born July 1st) can poop and eat it, and also as I use a sterilised soil substrate it can be hard to pick out the poop. I bathe Otis every day for around 20 minutes in lukewarm water. I even tried warmer water to see if she would poop or not, but with no luck. I usually bathe her in the mornings to wake her up a little bit, where she usually just sits lazily until I dry and put her back in her enclosure. By this time she eats the fresh breakfast I put out, walks around her enclosure for half an hour, basks, then generally goes back to sleep (this process takes an hour and a half or so).
The only time I have ever seen her wee is when I took her home from the breeder, where she was in a cardboard box with some brown paper stuffed in, and there was a dark trace of wee wetted through at the end. I'm just guessing that since I moisten the substrate daily for humidity levels, the wee just soaks through.
Also may I add that when bathing her this morning, I noticed a small, thin, brown thing sticking out from under her tail. I thought it was a piece of the substrate, maybe a stray stick, that got caught. I gave it a tiny pull, carefully so not to hurt her, and it didn't budge. I put her back in the water to see if it would float out, but it didn't. It may've truly been a piece of substrate lodged, but it almost seemed connected and didn't come out usually like the other pieces she gets do. She didn't seem too bothered by it though, and I held it with a tissue and when she walked it sort of just came out.
I don't know if it was poop or substrate? But poop seems a little strange - it was very, very thin, like a little twig, and spindly in texture, so I doubt it. It did resemble a piece of substrate, but I wanted to make sure if anyone had any similar experiences. Do you know what it might be?
I've had her since Christmas Eve, and she has settled in very nicely. She isn't shy around me and eats healthily, exercises, burrows when she sleeps and basks. I planted a Hens & Chicks succulent in her enclosure and she loves it, constantly hiding behind it and sleeping there - so cute!
The basking temp is 85F, the humidity level is 60-70%, and I spray the soil daily though it is pretty damp. She also has a "bedroom" - a sectioned off bit in her enclosure that works as the cool area, with a lid, which she sleeps in and generally roams in. Her shell is looking smooth and healthy and she isn't lethargic.
She is sleepy in the hours of 8-10am, and then perks up around 2-4pm, which are her most active hours. She eats again at 5pm, roams a little, and I give her another soak where she walks around - but still no poop or urinates for that matter.
She burrows and naps at 6-7pm, I turn her lights off at 8pm.
Is there anything I am doing wrong or you could recommend?
Thank you, I just want what's best for her.
Olivia
I'm aware that tortoise hatchlings (mine is a 5-6month Hermann's, born July 1st) can poop and eat it, and also as I use a sterilised soil substrate it can be hard to pick out the poop. I bathe Otis every day for around 20 minutes in lukewarm water. I even tried warmer water to see if she would poop or not, but with no luck. I usually bathe her in the mornings to wake her up a little bit, where she usually just sits lazily until I dry and put her back in her enclosure. By this time she eats the fresh breakfast I put out, walks around her enclosure for half an hour, basks, then generally goes back to sleep (this process takes an hour and a half or so).
The only time I have ever seen her wee is when I took her home from the breeder, where she was in a cardboard box with some brown paper stuffed in, and there was a dark trace of wee wetted through at the end. I'm just guessing that since I moisten the substrate daily for humidity levels, the wee just soaks through.
Also may I add that when bathing her this morning, I noticed a small, thin, brown thing sticking out from under her tail. I thought it was a piece of the substrate, maybe a stray stick, that got caught. I gave it a tiny pull, carefully so not to hurt her, and it didn't budge. I put her back in the water to see if it would float out, but it didn't. It may've truly been a piece of substrate lodged, but it almost seemed connected and didn't come out usually like the other pieces she gets do. She didn't seem too bothered by it though, and I held it with a tissue and when she walked it sort of just came out.
I don't know if it was poop or substrate? But poop seems a little strange - it was very, very thin, like a little twig, and spindly in texture, so I doubt it. It did resemble a piece of substrate, but I wanted to make sure if anyone had any similar experiences. Do you know what it might be?
I've had her since Christmas Eve, and she has settled in very nicely. She isn't shy around me and eats healthily, exercises, burrows when she sleeps and basks. I planted a Hens & Chicks succulent in her enclosure and she loves it, constantly hiding behind it and sleeping there - so cute!
The basking temp is 85F, the humidity level is 60-70%, and I spray the soil daily though it is pretty damp. She also has a "bedroom" - a sectioned off bit in her enclosure that works as the cool area, with a lid, which she sleeps in and generally roams in. Her shell is looking smooth and healthy and she isn't lethargic.
She is sleepy in the hours of 8-10am, and then perks up around 2-4pm, which are her most active hours. She eats again at 5pm, roams a little, and I give her another soak where she walks around - but still no poop or urinates for that matter.
She burrows and naps at 6-7pm, I turn her lights off at 8pm.
Is there anything I am doing wrong or you could recommend?
Thank you, I just want what's best for her.
Olivia
