Weird poop! Help please :)

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pandacakes

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Hi! My two year old leopard tortoise had diarrhea last monday, so I took him to a reputable reptile vet and he looked him over and checked out his poop via both smear and a float and there wasn't anything parasite wise or other that would cause him to have diarrhea. He had normal poop for about a week and now he has diarrhea again today. There is nothing new in his diet and his enclosure gets cleaned out daily. His energy is normal and he still eats like a pig. Any ideas what could be going on with my little guy?
 

Tony the tank

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Maybe an imbalance in gut flora..I believe flagyl or probiotics are good for that..
 

dbsneed69

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pandacakes said:
Hi! My two year old leopard tortoise had diarrhea last monday, so I took him to a reputable reptile vet and he looked him over and checked out his poop via both smear and a float and there wasn't anything parasite wise or other that would cause him to have diarrhea. He had normal poop for about a week and now he has diarrhea again today. There is nothing new in his diet and his enclosure gets cleaned out daily. His energy is normal and he still eats like a pig. Any ideas what could be going on with my little guy?

Poor little guy!! It's weird but can you describe the diarrhea?
 

Kristina

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This is going to be even weirder... But does it smell especially bad? Also, is it all runny, or is it fibrous and really wet? Sometimes they poop and pee at the same time, which can make for a runny looking mess.

Please describe your tortoise's diet in detail.
 

pandacakes

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Usually his poop is very fibrous, greenish-brown, looks like compressed hay kind-of and doesn't have any odor at all. This diarrhea is pretty runny and very green. It has a smell to it, but not a bad one... just more than usual.

His diet is grape leaves, spring mix, carolina pet supply grazing tortoise mix (big portion of diet), cactus (large portion of diet too), he gets dark leafy greens such as kale, collards, mustard greens, dandelions- leaves and flowers, hibiscus - leaves and flowers, he eats clover a couple times a week in the yard. He sometimes picks at mazuri but he is really not a fan of it. Maybe once a week he gets a little piece of squash or bell pepper or aloe as a snack but he hasn't gotten any of that for three weeks now. He hadn't gotten any of that a week prior to last weeks diarrhea day and I have been holding off giving him anything snack wise since then. I alternate days on giving him calcium and TNT.
 

CtTortoiseMom

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Next time take a pic :). I suspect it is the cactus. Was it like a bright green slime? My leo get's bright green slimy poop when she eats too much cactus.
 

pandacakes

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I will take a pic :) lol It's like bright green liquid with some fibrous bits in it. Weirdest poop I have ever seen from him! He'll get the bright green slime when he has too much cactus too, but it's never liquidy and weird like this.
 

Kristina

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I think the cactus is the culprit as well. Often we recommend feeding it to get things moving when there is an impaction. Cut it out of the diet for a week or two, and see what happens.
 

pandacakes

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Thanks for the suggestion! He still has diarrhea today :( Poor little guy!
 

Laura

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give him canned pumpkin,, that should help firm it up. NOT the pie filling type.
Also.. some parasites have a 'bloom'. it may not show one day,, and will another..
 

pandacakes

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I finally was able to trick him into eating canned pumpkin so hopefully that makes things more happy again. I had the vet check four different samples from a 72 hour period, so hopefully he really is parasite free
 
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