The end of March I got Super Dude out and his penis was ever so slightly visible. He's 6, but he's a rescue and I've only had him about a year. Since then it has been coming out really far every time I soak him. I know this is quite normal but my question really is why has this started happening so much when up until now (I got him June 2025) I'd never even seen it before? I've read it's common after hibernation, he brumated and was back to normal by the end of Jan. Advice greatly received!
Penis question!
- Thread starter Saz_acres
- Start date
He is maturing and spring is a mating season.
Hello and welcome to the forum.
In addition to what Wellington said, constipation or retained urates can also contribute to this. Are you soaking him in warm water 2-3 times a week? What do you feed him? What substrate are you using?
Check out this thread:
Info For New People. Please Read This First.
Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...
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I use tortoise life. Is that any good? He's on a table, I mist his substrate daily. I soak him three times and get him out everyday, cos that's the only time he does a poo and wees, he never does this on his table. He eats weeds and flowers from our garden, tho I do top his food up with a bit of shop bought saladHello and welcome to the forum.
In addition to what Wellington said, constipation or retained urates can also contribute to this. Are you soaking him in warm water 2-3 times a week? What do you feed him? What substrate are you using?
Check out this thread:
Info For New People. Please Read This First.
Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...
No. That substrate is a blend of sand and soil, neither of which should be used as tortoise substrate. When they live on sand, they are constantly ingesting it as it sticks to their food. In a perfect world, that incidental sand is able to pass through harmlessly. In the real world, it sometimes doesn't pass and ends up collecting in the gut causing a blockage. That sort of blockage can cause them to evert their penis excessively as they try to push it all through. An x-ray can confirm or deny this as a possibility, but be aware that most vets are ignorant of proper tortoise care and will give you the same terrible advice that almost all sources will give you.
Misting the surface of the substrate only cools your enclosure due to evaporative cooling. To dampen the substrate and add humidity, dump water into the substrate. How much water to dump and how often varies with each enclosure.
When you say "get him out", do you mean out of the enclosure and roaming on the floor? If yes, that is really bad, and it frequently ends in one of many disasters. The floor is not safe, and cannot be made safe. Keep the tortoise in its enclosure. The enclosure, either indoors or out, or both indoors AND outdoors, needs to be large enough to meet all of his exercise needs. If he has been out roaming the floors, this makes impaction even more likely. If the enclosure is too small, sand impaction becomes more likely too. Tortoises, much like horses, rely on locomotion to keep things moving through the gut. When the enclosure is too small, this hampers locomotion. An adult Testudo needs a minimum of 122x244cm for an indoor enclosure. Larger is better, and much large is better for outdoors when possible.
Weeds and flowers from the garden are an excellent diet!
Thank you so much for all this advice. You'd think that a substrate that literally has tortoise in the name would be suitable! I will sort that out. His table is 200 x 100. So on the small side. Get him out, I take him to the garden for 30 mins a day, he doesn't move around much in his enclosure, he just basks all day so I worry about the limited exercise he gets.
What is the best substrate? Thanks for all your help
200x100 cm isn't terrible. That is better than what most people offer. A little bigger would be a little better.
The tortoise needs an enclosure in the garden. So many people lose their tortoises when they are free roaming. Every single person says they were supervising and watching closely, yet their tortoise still somehow "disappeared". I've made this mistake myself many years ago. Make an enclosure BEFORE this happens to you and your tortoise. There are many ways to do it.
If he doesn't move around much and basks all day in the indoor enclosure, that means it is too cold indoors. Ambient needs to be warmer all around, and you might need a higher wattage basking lamp. This is the problem with open topped enclosures like tortoise tables. Unless the whole room is kept at the correct temperatures all the time, they just don't work well. In your country there is a company called Southdown Aquatics that makes affordable large closed chambers. Check it out. Its a much better way to house a tortoise.
Check the temperature under your basking lamp by laying a thermometer on its back directly under the bulb, at tortoise shell height, and letting it cook for an hour or more. Raise or lower the bulb as needed, or get a different wattage bulb if needed. Be sure to use a regular incandescent flood bulb. Arcadia makes and sells these. Don't use a halogen, mercury vapor bulb, or spot type bulb.
The best substrate options, and much more, are described in the link that I left for you up in post number 3. Read through that thread at least twice to take it all in.
The tortoise needs an enclosure in the garden. So many people lose their tortoises when they are free roaming. Every single person says they were supervising and watching closely, yet their tortoise still somehow "disappeared". I've made this mistake myself many years ago. Make an enclosure BEFORE this happens to you and your tortoise. There are many ways to do it.
If he doesn't move around much and basks all day in the indoor enclosure, that means it is too cold indoors. Ambient needs to be warmer all around, and you might need a higher wattage basking lamp. This is the problem with open topped enclosures like tortoise tables. Unless the whole room is kept at the correct temperatures all the time, they just don't work well. In your country there is a company called Southdown Aquatics that makes affordable large closed chambers. Check it out. Its a much better way to house a tortoise.
Check the temperature under your basking lamp by laying a thermometer on its back directly under the bulb, at tortoise shell height, and letting it cook for an hour or more. Raise or lower the bulb as needed, or get a different wattage bulb if needed. Be sure to use a regular incandescent flood bulb. Arcadia makes and sells these. Don't use a halogen, mercury vapor bulb, or spot type bulb.
The best substrate options, and much more, are described in the link that I left for you up in post number 3. Read through that thread at least twice to take it all in.
