Undigested poops while soaking?

[Nicole M]

(Poop pictures attached!)

Since getting my Russian tort Jezebel, I've been soaking her once a day. Since I made the water a little hotter, her escape attempts have reduced drastically (in lukewarm water, she was frenzied and trying to get out the entire time, but in much warmer water she'll sprawl out for a bit, drink a little, and lazily attempt to scale the walls of her tub--she's a Russian, after all!). However, every time I soak her, she ends up pooping out what essentially looks like undigested food, which is very different from her usual well-formed poops outside of soaks... She's never pooped normally in the water.

Why does this happen, and should I be worried? It seems like she totally empties herself whether the food's ready to come out or not!

 

[JoesMum]

It looks normal for a poop lacking fibre. You need to feed her more fibrous food. What is her diet?

 

[Nicole M]

It looks normal for a poop lacking fibre. You need to feed her more fibrous food. What is her diet?

Her diet currently is a variety (and varied mixtures) of broadleaf greens, with occasional squash. She's very picky and came from a lot of mistreatment, including one person who fed her nothing but carrots. I try to mix weeds in with her greens and have even tried chopping the weeds and wetting them so they stick to the greens, but she will selectively eat around anything she doesn't like and refuses to touch greens that are covered in weeds. I've also tried mixing in some Mazuri for fiber, but to no avail...

 

[JoesMum]

You are going to have to be tough. Chop the food real small and mix it wet so it sticks together.

Torts are very, very, very stubborn. (You can probably add more verys to that statement) They can also go a long time without eating and come to no harm as long as you keep them hydrated with soaks.

Feed the good stuff. Don't feed the bad. A hungry tort will eat! And we'll support you through the inevitable battle of wills as your tort goes on hunger strike. You are right.

This tort is behaving like a toddler that only wants to eat chips and chocolate. Time for parental assertion of who is in control!

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

If grass is going to be a longer term diet enrichment, you can use mulberry, grape, or plantain leaves. They are all high in longer fiber and will help the tortoise form tighter fecal pellets. But some grasses are best. Long fiber is not many carbon atoms strung together to make large molecules, it's stringy things so big they come out as they went in. The leaves I mentioned act as long fiber as the veins in the leaves don't really break down in the gut.

 

[Nicole M]

You are going to have to be tough. Chop the food real small and mix it wet so it sticks together.

Torts are very, very, very stubborn. (You can probably add more verys to that statement) They can also go a long time without eating and come to no harm as long as you keep them hydrated with soaks.

Feed the good stuff. Don't feed the bad. A hungry tort will eat! And we'll support you through the inevitable battle of wills as your tort goes on hunger strike. You are right.

This tort is behaving like a toddler that only wants to eat chips and chocolate. Time for parental assertion of who is in control!

Thank you! My tortoise is definitely a total brat--but I love her. I definitely see a hunger strike coming in the near future... She barely ate anything at all today--sniffed it, took a nibble or two, then decided she was done. Even with the store bought greens, she'll pick out things she likes best (e.g. radicchio) and leave the rest. Gah!!!

 

[JoesMum]

Thank you! My tortoise is definitely a total brat--but I love her. I definitely see a hunger strike coming in the near future... She barely ate anything at all today--sniffed it, took a nibble or two, then decided she was done. Even with the store bought greens, she'll pick out things she likes best (e.g. radicchio) and leave the rest. Gah!!!

So many of us have been there and done that. I'm not sure which has behaved worse: my tortoise or my kids. The kids make more noise, but the tort is probably more stubborn

 

[Nicole M]

So many of us have been there and done that. I'm not sure which has behaved worse: my tortoise or my kids. The kids make more noise, but the tort is probably more stubborn

Hahaha, torts are little stinkers for sure... Glad to know I'll be in good company throughout this inevitable hunger strike!

The thing that makes this situation doubly annoying is that my poor tort has an overgrown beak from long-term improper care. I've been taking measures to file the beak down, but this chopped up food business--and certainly the hunger strike--won't make matters any better. Ugh!

 

[Tom]

The poops are fairly normal for a russian. Many of mine would do exactly what yours is doing. I find that they usually tighten up over time if you do nothing. If you add fiber, they will likely tighten up quicker.

When introducing new foods that your tortoise doesn't want to eat, start with very small amount of it that are chopped up super fine. Mix it in with wet greens so that there is no way for the tortoise to eat around it. Most people start with way too much of the new stuff. A few tiny crumbs are impossible to avoid unless they just don't eat at all, and that won't last long for the few tortoises that decide to fast a day or two.

 

[Lincoln Michal]

I do not think the feces looks normal. Feed wild plants like white clover, dandelians, Plantains, crab grass, The feces should form a solid roundish or teardrop shaped pellet. It should not fall apart right away in the water. My own experience is that Mazuri tortoise diet can help a lot. But lots of weeds from the outdoors should do the trick. Also, Its not necessary to soak a healthy adult russian tortoise more than once a week. You may be over stimulating the tort to poop so the poop comes out loss and underdigested.

 

[Nicole M]

I do not think the feces looks normal. Feed wild plants like white clover, dandelians, Plantains, crab grass, The feces should form a solid roundish or teardrop shaped pellet. It should not fall apart right away in the water. My own experience is that Mazuri tortoise diet can help a lot. But lots of weeds from the outdoors should do the trick. Also, Its not necessary to soak a healthy adult russian tortoise more than once a week. You may be over stimulating the tort to poop so the poop comes out loss and underdigested.

Most of the information I've read says that russians should be soaked 2-3x per week, minimum. In the case of this tortoise it's definitely necessary, as she's currently on a hunger strike, not wanting to go anywhere near hay, Mazuri, weeds, or anything that isn't store-bought greens. I'm trying to get her out of this habit, and it's necessary for me to keep her hydrated throughout this process. I've been mixing in small amounts of the better food, finely chopped and mixed wet, but she won't touch it thus far. Rather than giving in, I'm continuing with the frequent soaks until she comes around to trying the new food. Hopefully the feces will change once she starts eating better!

 

[Lincoln Michal]

Nicole, A healthy active russian should have an appetite. However, At this time in Kazakhstan, The tortoises are going into aestivation and stop eating so perhaps this explains the loss of appetite. I have Libyan and moroccan greeks that stop eating for two months every summer. That said, gastrointestinal problems such as enteritis caused by parasites could be the cause of loss of appetite. Find a good reptile Vet and have a fecal sample cheeked for these parasites. If your tortoises was wild collected probably it has parasites.

 

[Lincoln Michal]

By the way Nicole, Your tortoise likes the radicchio because it is bitter like the wild plants it likes to eat. Feed weeds like clover and dandelions. He will love them.

 

[Nicole M]

Nicole, A healthy active russian should have an appetite. However, At this time in Kazakhstan, The tortoises are going into aestivation and stop eating so perhaps this explains the loss of appetite. I have Libyan and moroccan greeks that stop eating for two months every summer. That said, gastrointestinal problems such as enteritis caused by parasites could be the cause of loss of appetite. Find a good reptile Vet and have a fecal sample cheeked for these parasites. If your tortoises was wild collected probably it has parasites.

Sorry, I might not have been clear. The tortoise does have an appetite and is very active. She just doesn't want to eat things that are good for her, as she's used to store bought greens. She's a rescue and came from plenty of mistreatment, and the rescue that took her in prior to our adopting her specialized in dogs--not tortoises. They just happened to have her dumped in their hands, and they only fed her store bought greens. We're in the process of changing her diet to something she prefers.

That said, she has been seen by a vet and had a fecal done, which came out parasite-free.