Tortoise eating rabbit poop

[L82lalaland]

Anyone have any problems with their tortoise's eating rabbit poop. My yard fills up with rabbits at night then when I put the babies out penny manages to find every piece of the poop I missed. Is this a problem?

 

[Dizisdalife]

Your new outdoor enclosure will be of some help with this by limiting the area they roam in. You may want to cover the babies' enclosure with a wire mesh to keep the rabbits out of it. The rabbits will get in there after any greens you may grow for the tortoises. Still, they are going to find poop in the yard. I would suggest that you regularly (at least once a year) have them tested for parasites by taking a fecal sample to a Vet. I use Dr. Steffes located in Penasquitos. He is a tortoise keeper and reptile enthusiast. Here is a link : http://www.pethospitalpq.com/ . Really great people that have treated my tortoise for a URI, pinworms, and removed a splinter from his eye. Nice to have close by when you need a splinter removed from your tortoise's eye.

 

[lisa127]

My dogs eat rabbit poop.

 

[L82lalaland]

Dizisdalife thanks for the vet, was going to have my son build the enclosure up and put a lid on it hopefully this weekend. We have huge hawks and crows that pay way to much attention to the little guys.
Lisa127 my dogs roam the yard every morning eating it too.

 

[Dizisdalife]

Yes, the hawks. We have a few Red Tail that come by, but mostly it is Coopers. They are after the wild birds that we feed. I worried about Crows because they come to eat the wild bird seed as well and have been known to attack desert tortoises in the wild. The first outdoor pens I made all had wire mesh covers so I could go off to work all day and not worry (too much).

 

[marcy4hope]

Yes, the hawks. We have a few Red Tail that come by, but mostly it is Coopers. They are after the wild birds that we feed. I worried about Crows because they come to eat the wild bird seed as well and have been known to attack desert tortoises in the wild. The first outdoor pens I made all had wire mesh covers so I could go off to work all day and not worry (too much).

i realize this is a side note, but we had trouble with crows eating our bird feed too and we emptied all the feeders for one week, refilled them with only safflower seed for one round and then once empty we refilled them with our regular birdseed. haven't had anymore crows since then.

 

[Zamric]

.
Lisa127 my dogs roam the yard every morning eating it too.

Trane the dogs better to eat ALL the rabbit poo then you dont have to worry about your tort eating it!

 

[ascott]

Tortoise and the Hare....I think that they will be just fine... I know that the CDT and the rabbits (cotton tail and jack rabbit) all live just fine in the desert....and I happen to know that the CDTs here, LOVE LOVE LOVE to eat rabbit poo....likely because they essentially eat the same diet....yummmm (ick)...

 

[L82lalaland]

Thanks everyone.

 

[Jacqui]

I recall from years ago when we raised and showed rabbits, that if a rabbit were to eat it's own poop it would likely more food value from it the second time round. I would guess that's why the tortoises are eating the poop, it is still packed with yummy and needed vitamins, minerals, and trace elements.

 

[Yellow Turtle]

I recall from years ago when we raised and showed rabbits, that if a rabbit were to eat it's own poop it would likely more food value from it the second time round. I would guess that's why the tortoises are eating the poop, it is still packed with yummy and needed vitamins, minerals, and trace elements.

Second to this. I no longer remove my leopards poo. They do the nice job clean it themselves.

 

[RedfootsRule]

I see no problem with it. Keep in mind, a rabbits diet is no different then that of a grazing tortoise. There is still some nutrients left in it, as gross as it may seem, and I really don't think there are any parasites that will be transmitted from a warm-blooded rabbit to a cold-blooded reptile. Just not going to happen; I'm not even aware of species that could make this transition.