My Sulcata eats dog poop!

[Azjaba]

My husband and I are very focused on keeping the grass cleaned up from our Beagle. It never fails that a small piece if dog poop (1/2” or smaller) gets overlooked in the grass. Every time I take Jabaloni outside for exercise, he sniffs out the little nuggets and gobbles it up. He has a really good nose. As soon as he stops in the grass and gets real interested in something, I go check on it and sure enough it is a small piece of dog poop. Should I worry about this? Will it make him sick? For now I just follow him around the yard. He’s 6 months old and loves exercising outside.

 

[Mellivora]

In nature this is how tortoises obtain, amongst other things, calcium. There is always the possibility that the poo will contain undesriable items, bacteria, eggs of internal parasites and similar nasties but ii is just some of the hazards that tortoises face in nature.

 

[Ben02]

I would keep an eye on him for the next couple of days just in case there was something in the poo, but he should be fine.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hi

 

[TammyJ]

After your darling little beagle has deposited his aromatic, steamy gift upon the grass, pick up what you can and cover the rest with a food platter cover or barbecue cover, something heavy that the tortoise cannot push aside, and then let the tortoise out for his run. Or hose off the pooped on area before letting the tortoise out? I know they do this (eat poop) and that it probably won't harm him, but it's sure not very pleasant to think about and I would not like my tortoises eating dog poop either. I really would want them to get their calcium from the food that I give them.

 

[Tom]

The tortoise needs its own enclosure where the dog doesn't go. Tortoises should not be allowed to eat dog poop, and yes it can be bad for them.

Also be aware that your dog is likely to chew up your tortoise one day, even though you might protest and think he would never do that. It happens all the time, and every time the person is shocked that their loving family dog did such a thing. The tortoise needs its own fenced area where the dog can't get to it.