New Member, need help with our tortoise (not pooping)

[Georges fam]

Dear friends,
Our Desert Tortoise, George, is about 2 years old. Just came out of first hibernation about a week ago. He has not pooped yet. We are concerned about a possible blockage/constipation, or maybe something more serious. Went to vet yesterday. She said he looked good but wanted a stool sample to check for parasites... Duh, if we could get a stool sample we would not have felt the need to see the Vet! Any suggestions to help move along the digestive process?

George's Family
Temecula, CA (USA)

 

[Jacqui]

RE: New Member, need help with our tortoise

Hi! A couple of questions... is he eating? Does he have a place where he can go soak or drink if he chooses? Have you saw him do so? Is he active? Did you hiberate him inside? Is he kept inside? (figuring yes to the last two due to his age/size). How warm is he being kept if inside? If outside what have been the temps?

 

[wellington]

RE: New Member, need help with our tortoise

Maybe try giving him a nice warm soak in the bath tub or something of that size. The warm water and the moving around in something the size of a tub can sometimes get things moving along. Good luck, hope all is fine.

 

[Yvonne G]

RE: New Member, need help with our tortoise

If he just came out of hibernation, then there is nothing in his gut to poop out. Also, what he eats today doesn't come out tomorrow. In some tortoises it takes up to 2 weeks to pass through the digestive system. I wouldn't worry just yet.

 

[Tom]

I'd soak him every day for a week or two. This will help rehydrate him after his winter slumber and the warm water often stimulates them to poop. The other thing that helps is movement. Locomotion helps get things in the GI tract moving, hence Barb's suggestion of using the bath tub. The large area and slick sides usually get them moving.

To add to what Yvonne has said, I have seen it takes weeks for food to get all the way through their GI tract. Be patient.

 

[Georges fam]

Thank you everyone. George is kept inside as he is still quite small. We keep his enclosures around 85 on one end. He has a log arch he sleeps inon the other. We were told not to keep water in his enclosure but to soak him daily, which we have been doing. He has been cruising around the house each day for a while. He hasn't eaten a ton, but he didn't eat at all yesterday. Since this was his first year hibernating, we didn't know what to expect.

 

[Georges fam]

Yay! George pooped today! Thanks for all your ideas...cruising in the bathtub and time did the trick!

 

[AZtortMom]

Welcome yay! For George!

 

[bmt123]

Are you worried about salmonella in your bathtub

 

[Arnold_rules]

Yay! George pooped today! Thanks for all your ideas...cruising in the bathtub and time did the trick!

Only true tortoise owners can get excited about their pet pooping in their bathtub.

 

[ascott]

Are you worried about salmonella in your bathtub

Scrub and rinse well and you should be aok