Tortoise Constipation/Impaction?

Steven9786

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Okay well I have a little tortoise, about 3 years old that is significantly smaller than his hatchmates. He seems to be constipated or impacted as he has some poop sticking out of his rear end but can't seem to pass it. I thought he'd be able to do it on his own but after a couple days, I knew he needs some assistance. I've looked online and they said some pumpkin will help (I have some fresh cut up pumpkin for him), 30-120 minute warm baths a couple times a day, (He's in a warm bath with a 10.0 uvb and heat lamp overhead; inside air temp is about 79 degrees) and some mineral oil injections.

I have quite a few questions about the mineral oil: how do I know it's tortoise safe? Where do I inject it? (Mouth, anus, or in skin?) and do I use a needle or not? (I doubt I need a needle, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask)

Will this be enough for my tortoise? He's responsive, but just looks miserable and I want to help him get better ASAP :(
 

Steven9786

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He's a (Mojave) Desert Tortoise, sorry for not mentioning that. His basking spot temp is around that temperature, high 70's, low 80's in the late autumn/winter and a lot warmer in the spring/summer since I live in CA. He's in a separate terrarium now with a hiding spot and angled in a way so only half of it is filled with warm water. His butt is in the water and hes half-laying in it.
 

sissyofone

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You do not need a needle. You only need a syringe to administer the mineral oil. I've used it on a badly impacted Sulcata before. I filled syringe about 1/2 full with room temperature mineral oil and put it just inside :-\ ( yes, where the poo comes out ) =-O . I inserted the tip of syringe about 1/2 inch or so. it helps to lubricate it and makes it easier to pass the stool. I did that every three days for two wks I think it was. I also put a little mineral oil on his mazuri , I soaked mazuri added 2 or 3 teaspoon of mineral oil to the soft mazuri and mixed it up. It worked very well for the tortoise. I only dId thIs twIce I belIeve, once a week. Also How often do you soak your tortoise? And what kind of tortoise do you have?

Sorry I went bk and read the part about you soaking your little one. You can also try feeding your tort aloe vera it will help with constipation and so will cactus just chop it up if he's real small.
 

sissyofone

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Sorry I went back and read the part about you soaking your little one. You can also try feeding your tort aloe vera it will help with constipation and so will cactus just chop it up if he's real small.
I would try all options before administering mineral oil to tort rectually. You can mix it with Mazuri try that first if you don't use mazuri mix with another type food blend the food if necessary. Mine wouldn't eat the collard or turnips I just rubbed oil on so I blended them once just found mazuri easier to use.
Hope this helps sorry if I rambled.
 

ascott

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The tortoise requires a basking spot that reaches 100-110 so that he can get his temps up to appropriate level...then the outer area of the basking spot should gradually decrease to lets say 80-85 then progress to 70ish , this low temp in the coolest area is suggest if you are NOT NOT NOT using the high humidity for the entire enclosure method some like to use--if you are using this method(high humidity in entire enclosure) then the temp should never fall below 80 in any part of the enclosure day nor night....I personally would not suggest an entire enclosure with high constant humidity for this species---no matter what garbage some may offer/say to the contrary....a warm humid hide is more appropriate for this species...

When you say that there is poo stuck there....are you sure that it is poo? Have you gently cleaned the area after one of the long warm water soaks?
 

Steven9786

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No I haven't exactly cleaned the area,but I'm pretty much certain it's poop. It seems fibrous and "grassy" but pretty dry. I know some people around here have thought that that their tortoise's penis was poop. But I don't think that's the case this time. Does anyone know how to cook or soften pumpkin for tortoises, I have a baby pumpkin that I cut up for them but I think it may be a little too hard. And thanks for the aloe vera idea, I have a couple plants in my backyard so I'll get on that right now.

And thank you for the welcome, I made this account like 2 years ago, but this is the first time I've used it. Whenever I have a question about my torts I know this is the place to go. :)

to sissyofone: It's fine, rambling is good. It means you have a lot of info to share on the subject and want to help.
 

ZEROPILOT

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There are no small stones nearby that can be eaten are there? Mine even attempt to eat ping pong sized rocks every now and again. I'd think about an X ray.
 

Steven9786

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No aside from their fir bark substrate, which the pieces are pretty large (most pieces are larger than his head) there are no small stones for him to swallow up, just huge ones that they climb on, so that's why I feel it's a constipation issue rather than a compaction issue.
 

Steven9786

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The fir bark isn't easy to break, and pretty large, so I doubt he could've broken it up, let alone swallowed one whole. My little torts aren't very big, about palm-sized.
 

Yvonne G

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Hi Steven:

It is perfectly ok for you to gently pull the stuck poop out. Soak him in warm water for about 15 minutes first, then just gently grab ahold of it and pull it out.

A note about mineral oil: never squirt mineral oil down the throat. Because of its viscosity (slipperyness) the tortoise might not realize he has it in his throat and he might aspirate it into his lungs. Mineral oil is good to use on food to help lubricate the 'pipes' inside a tortoise because it is non-absorptive, and it coats everything inside, helping whatever's stuck to slide out. But always use it with food, never by itself.

Squirted into the cloaca like Sissyphone suggested is also a very good idea.
 

Steven9786

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So I'm assuming helping him pass it by breaking it up with some tweezers or gently tugging would be a bad idea. It seems to be dry, (not as dry as it was yesterday) fibrous poop, which is still sticking partly out of his rear end.

Also would pharmacy mineral oil be okay for him? I assume so since it's meant to be used internally, but I want to make sure. If I do decide to give him mineral oil, how should I give it? (Orally? By mixing it in his food/syringing it slowly in his mouth? Or by putting the oil in his rectum?) and how much should I give to a 4-inch tortoise?
 

Yvonne G

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Steven: you and I posted at the same time. Please read my comment shown right above yours.
 

johnsonnboswell

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It doesn't matter how you cook pumpkin for a tortoise. Microwave, steam, or bake. I'd microwave because its fastest & doesn't use much power.
 

Steven9786

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Okay thank you Yvonne! I've never thought about that before, but now that you've mentioned it, it makes a lot of sense.

Update: I went to the nearby grocery store and in the pharmacy section, they had "Extra Heavy" TopCare Mineral Oil LUBRICANT LAXATIVE. It was the only one so I bought it. My little tort is soaking in a warm bath again, so I'm going to try and help him push it out in about 15-30 minutes and if that doesn't work I guess I'm going to have to try the mineral oil.

I made them all a mixed salad of collard greens, aloe vera, pumpkin, and cucumber, topped off with a little calcium/vitamin powder. Hopefully the little guy will eat once he's done with all this.
 

Steven9786

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Steven9786

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I want to warn ahead of time for the 'TMI' I'm posting below.

But anyways, I have some good news! :) I got some gloves on and, slowly and gently pulled it out without much effort on my part; it actually seemed like he was helping. After I got it out, I can see why he wasn't able to pass it by himself, it was quite a bit larger on the inside. I took pictures, for future reference and would post them, but I'm not sure you guys would want to see it anyways, so I decided against it.

Bad news :( His cloaca seems a little stretched out and I'm kind of worried about that. I can put the mineral oil in now, as a precaution for anything else in his system, but I don't know whether or not I should give it to him now that it's out, and I don't know how much to give him.
 
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