Pooping problems?

[pixDelirious]

Hey all, kind of concerned here.

I have an adult male Russian tortoise of indeterminate age (though not very old probably), Castiel, who I haven't seen poop in probably a few weeks. Now I haven't flipped out and taken him to the vet yet because --

• He is still eating voraciously
• He is very active/non sluggish when out of his enclosure
• He is breathing fine
• He is urinating fine

Could it be that I need to switch up his diet? He has been eating a steady kale diet for a while now. Or is he "recycling" when I'm not looking? His enclosure is set up as suggested on russiantortoise.net (rubbermaid container option, as I live in an apartment), he gets a nice long soak every other day, and I make sure he gets out of the container for a good while at least once a day. He used to poop fairly regularly either on the floor on his walks or in the bath tub.

I'm a first-time tortoise mommy (only had Castiel since December!) so I'm nervous about what this lack of poop could mean.

Any thoughts???

 

[dmmj]

A few weeks? He is recycling :eating" it.

 

[CrystalsFamily]

I've had my Russian since Feb, and he fell ill two weeks after he first came home and didn't eat for about a month and a half. He's in early recovery now, but it took a long time to zero in on the problem, which I believe was constipation/blockage. He stopped eating and was very inactive and obviously unwell, which it sounds like Castiel is not. So I can see why dmmj says he must be "recycling." However -- our tort very frequently poops in the warm soak, and since you're soaking every other day, I'm really surprised you're not seeing any there. So I wonder.

In case of constipation, here's a thread where I got a LOT of helpful info on that topic: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/foods-to-clean-out-the-digestive-tract.91482/.

In terms of diet, take a look at other threads on that diet forum. Your tortoise should not have a "steady diet" of anything, as variety is the much agreed-upon key to their long-term health. I have fed from the grocery store so far, so that has meant that every week I buy spring mix and a different type of other green, and make him a mixed salad. The other greens have included chard, collards, dandelion greens, escarole, endive. (And then when he was constipated, I was going with more watery types of lettuce). I've been able to get all these things organic. I also mix a bit of calcium powder into the salad, and I was tossing in moistened grass pellets from the petstore for more fiber (haven't returned to that yet and will probably not do daily). There is a short list of more controversial grocery store foods that contain oxalates, which can block the absorption of calcium -- some people try to avoid them but lots say just to rotate foods and you'll be fine, which seems sensible to me. That list includes spinach and, I believe, kale.

I am hoping, now that it's spring, to advance to also growing my tort some weeds and flowers that he can eat, which will more closely resemble a wild diet. But I'm not there yet.

Also -- what's the substrate? Some types can be drying (which might affect poop) or can block them if eaten. Lastly, is he warm enough? Being too cool can result in slowing down the metabolism (but I believe they would usually stop eating in that case). What are your temps (basking/warm/cool/nighttime) and how are you measuring them? (I was using what turned out to be a very inaccurate cheap analog thermometer and have switched to an infrared gun that's spot accurate right on the substrate.)

There are a lot of factors to good tortoise husbandry, and it's a long learning curve, I find!

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Give the little one a cactus pad or two and he will go poo ! Have a great tort day


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