Poop stuck in tortoise!! Help!!

[ayrgrn]

Hi,
my 1yr 8 month old Hermann's tort has poop stuck in him and I don't know what to do.
I don't want to pull it out incase it hurts him, anyone have any ideas?

Here is a photo (apologies)

)

it's been like that for over 30 minutes now.
I just bathed him for 20mins in warm water but that didn't help.

any advice please?

 

[Yvonne G]

If you're squeamish about touching poop with your hand then use something to grab ahold of the poop. . . tweezers, tongs, etc. Gently pull it out. Then take the tweezers (or whatever) and dig all the stuck poop from the shell above the tail. Soaking will soften it and make it easier. Be sure to have the water deep enough that all the poop is covered, but not so deep he has to struggle to keep his head out of the water.

 

[ayrgrn]

If you're squeamish about touching poop with your hand then use something to grab ahold of the poop. . . tweezers, tongs, etc. Gently pull it out. Then take the tweezers (or whatever) and dig all the stuck poop from the shell above the tail. Soaking will soften it and make it easier. Be sure to have the water deep enough that all the poop is covered, but not so deep he has to struggle to keep his head out of the water.

Thanks Yvonne, I'm not squeamish about it just wanted to make sure I wouldn't hurt him by doing so!

Thanks

 

[Tom]

You can also soak for an hour or more, and that might do it too.

 

[Sa Ga]

Be so very very careful and go slowly. There may be something large or it may be partially adhered to the bowl wall and you could cause a perforation.

As long as he isn't in immediate pain, I'd recommend just soaking him and seeing if things soften/hydrate enough to come out on their own since it's a rather sizable mass.

 

[ayrgrn]

You can also soak for an hour or more, and that might do it too.

Be so very very careful and go slowly. There may be something large or it may be partially adhered to the bowl wall and you could cause a perforation.

As long as he isn't in immediate pain, I'd recommend just soaking him and seeing if things soften/hydrate enough to come out on their own since it's a rather sizable mass.

Thanks for the advice, since it's 11pm where I am I can't really do an hour soak but will definitely do that if it happens in the future again!
I managed to pull it out very slowly, he seemed fine as I was doing it. it appeared to be a weirdly shaped poo, kind of like a figure 8 but 3-dimentional if you get what I mean, which is why it wasn't coming out. I hope he's okay in the morning!

Thanks for your replies!

 

[Sa Ga]

I know EXACTLY what you're talking about! I call it a "ropey log" cuz it looks like a section of rope with the twisty "figure 8" lobes u describe.