how often should my tort poo

[Jupiterannette]

I know this sounds strange... but my tort has yet to poo.... im a bit concerned...

I got him on monday he is 5 yo and 8 inches long... he has been eating timothy hay, zoomed desert tort pellet, spring mix, and kale, we gave hims some apple, and a blue berry... and some shredded carrot, and a peice of sweet potatoe... and here we are at thursday and still no poo.. i soak him for about 10 mins in luke warm purified water each morning while i prepare his meal, but still no poos... i hunted threw the cypress mulch and cant find any...

now that you think im a compleat weirdo.....

how often should one his size go..

my hatchling went every day, once and a while she ate it but still she had a little pellet of poo each day.... he is eating like a cow,,and still no poo.. im worried.

 

[Yvonne G]

He might be eating it. They sometimes do. You can usually see the telltale black around the mouth. They usually go every day, but to skip a day or two isn't unusual.

 

[Jupiterannette]

He might be eating it. They sometimes do. You can usually see the telltale black around the mouth. They usually go every day, but to skip a day or two isn't unusual.

i haven't seen the infamous black mouth, ive been watching....

it could just be the transition.. if i dont see poo by monday we are going to the vet.. just encase..... anyone have this happen with a new tort?

thanks for the feedback!

 

[Stephanie Logan]

Taco does not poo nearly as often as I would like, and she is 4 years old and about 6" long.

She doesn't eat much, though.

I have found that when I put her on the warm sunporch floor and let her run around some, she lets loose and poops and pees several times. Now if I could just get the sun to shine hot enough every day...I haven't had her out in nearly a week, and no poo!

I don't worry about it as much now that I know that's just her own individual habit, but I do wish she could be more "normal"!

 

[Annieski]

Morty is 2 1/2 years, 8.5 lbs, 12" long. We live in NJ and when we are outside--there is never a problem with pooping. The winter is another story. The schedule varies-- poop three days in a row----no poop for sometimes 5 days. To try to get this a bit more regular I cut up some aloe vera and sprinkle on regular food. And most importantly-- I make her exercise[she has to follow me for some dandelion or turnip greens].
It doesn't work all the time but it helps me think I doing something to help. The vet says it's the tort's schedule-- and as long as everything else is ok--- don't worry.

 

[Jupiterannette]

thank you all for the bode of confidence, he still hasn't done the business yet, but im gonna give hims some extra exercise today see if that helps! laps around the warm pellet stove!

 

[Tom]

Here's what always makes mine poo.

1. Sunshine.(not really possible right now)
2. Exercise. Can you let him run around the house a bit? ( not on carpet, obviously ) Maybe block off the kitchen or laundry room? As long as temps are near 70, he'll be fine for a while.
3. Warm soaks. Try 30-40 minutes. Make sure the water stays warm enough. If you do it in a bath tub, you can combine some exercise and soaking at the same time and that might do it.

Good luck and please come back and tell us what finally works for you.

 

[Jupiterannette]

Here's what always makes mine poo.

1. Sunshine.(not really possible right now)
2. Exercise. Can you let him run around the house a bit? ( not on carpet, obviously ) Maybe block off the kitchen or laundry room? As long as temps are near 70, he'll be fine for a while.
3. Warm soaks. Try 30-40 minutes. Make sure the water stays warm enough. If you do it in a bath tub, you can combine some exercise and soaking at the same time and that might do it.

Good luck and please come back and tell us what finally works for you.

oooo.. i wanna try the bath tub... make him try to go for his breakfast!!!! but its just out of reach.. oh slippery tub.. go go go!!! nom nom!

 

[tortoisenerd]

Congrats on the new tort!

My little guy poops and/or pees anytime he is out of his enclosure, likely due to the excitement and being scared (why they will commonly poop when being held or put in a wide open space). You have great advice here already, although I wouldn't want to soak for so long as it could be stressful and if you are soaking daily, more than 15 minutes is quite excessive. By the way, I would recommend no fruit, no starches (like sweet potato; squash/pumpkin in small amounts is ok), carrots as a very rare treat but never is better as they are sweet, and if you can get him to eat hay that is the best over the processed food, although ZooMed is pretty alright as far as commercial foods go. Weeds would be great too.

Besides checking the mouth you can wipe his butt with a paper towel and see if there is any residue. Cactus pads can be a laxative. If you are very worried I would put him on substrate like newspaper or paper towels until you see poop or skid marks, lol, so then you eliminate the chance it is hiding in the substrate, and increase the possibility that you can see telltale signs on the paper before he may eat it. And yes, the stress of a new home can cause a tort's bathroom habits to change one way or the other. His food intake could also be down from usual due to stress and therefore he hasn't needed to go yet. Any way you could find out how much he was eating before? Eating is a great sign, but it possibly could be less than typical for him.

I don't like to let my tort run around the house because besides the obvious hazards like cold, drafts, hair/dust, etc, he can get scared and want a place to hide in the big unknown space. Also, when they get a taste of freedom they won't like being penned up anymore. Same with an outdoor tortoise brought in for winter.

Best wishes.

 

[Jupiterannette]

Dozer finally pooed today.. OMG

im hoping it was that huge cause he hasn't pooed in 3 weeks..... but i know im in for it when he gets bigger!

someone once told me they go like a st.Bernard! i believe it now! LOL

a few questions as im new to this....

sorry...


it was peanut butter consistency and dark almost black, a hue of green..

and naturally and ran threw it and got it every where! so i soaked him and he went some more and peed??? yelloweey mush (urates)??

just wanna make sure this is all natural..

thanks for the input.. sorry for the gross detail...

 

[Stephanie Logan]

Not at all! The TFO thrives on "gross detail"...

 

[Yvonne G]

Misty Cordon lives in South Africa and is very experienced with leopard tortoises. This is what she has to say about the poo question:

"Studies have shown that digestion of food prepared from the kitchen takes 3-8 days, whereas natural growing food digests in 16-28 days, a much slower and more natural process which their systems are designed for. Plants can be grown in trays or pots and replaced when required. These tortoises do best on a natural high fiber diet. "

So, if you feed your sulcata grocery store greens today, you should see the results of that feeding in from 3 to 8 days. If he eats a meal of grass or day today, it won't come out until two to four weeks.

 

[Jupiterannette]

ok... he eats alot of hay, its winter here so he is in.. and some greens from the store, and some mazuri.
i just wanna know now if the dark coloration and consistency is ok???

 

[Yvonne G]

My sulcata poops out dark brown "bombs." If you break it apart you can see the grass blades, leaves and hay stems. It is dark chocolate brown. It holds its shape and looks like a big bullet.

 

[Jupiterannette]

sound right.. thanks

 

[jobeanator]

my sulcatas eat like elephants and poop like them too.. i can always tell or smell sometimes they have pooped. mine seem to benefit from a good soaking, they all enjoy it. maybe its the diet your feeding him? mine as of now consist of endive, escarole spring mix some veggies once in a while and hay.