Urgent Care :: Strange turtle poop

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Post Posted: Sat Jan 19, 2019 7:02 pm   Strange turtle poop

Hi everybody,

I have had my turtle, Bulbasaur, for about 4 years so far and he has unfortunately gotten sick this year. He poop looks clear and hard, almost like the glue from a hot glue gun. I noticed that my other turtle, Bubba, had it before too. Bulbasaur has been to the vet 3 times already and he is currently on Fenbendazole and Fortaz. Bulbasaur has also lost about 60 grams and stopped eating for a month and had no stools. I suspect that he may have eaten a goldfish along with the other turtles in my pond so I just wanted to ask if anybody has seen any stools that look similar to this? Bulbasaur had diarrhea after being tube fed by the vet but this also came out. The Fenbendazole is a medication prescribed to me by my vet to treat for parasites since I believe that he may have this.
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Post Posted: Sat Jan 19, 2019 11:14 pm   Re: Strange turtle poop

That's pretty strange. Are you sure you have males? What have the been eating and what else is in the tank?
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Post Posted: Sat Jan 19, 2019 11:48 pm   Re: Strange turtle poop

Yes, my vet has also verified that my turtle is a male. He hasn’t ate anything in a month so the vet has to tube feed him with a food mixed with water. After feeding him, he pooped this out in the morning. I had also sent a picture of this to my vet and he says it seems like mucus. I am also very confused as to what this may be. Bulbasaur is isolated in a tub for now and I change the water daily. He’s kept inside the house and has a basking light on him for around 12 hours a day.

My other turtle, Bubba, also had this in his stools for a few days but as of now I haven’t seen any in the past few weeks.Bubba is housed outside in the pond with my 3 other turtles. The pond is around 300 gallons and has a filter and a big basking spot. Bubba is eating and swimming like normal but I am thinking of bringing him to the vet just to make sure that everything is alright. :(
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Post Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2019 12:33 am   Re: Strange turtle poop

Any silicone around the pond? If they bit it off and it would go undigested. Is the pond indoors or outdoors?
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Post Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2019 1:55 am   Re: Strange turtle poop

There is nothing silicone around or in the pond and the pond is outdoor. My vet just replied back to my email and said that although it is uncommon, turtles can release some mucus from their bladder and intestines in their stools. In my turtle's case, he hasn't been eating in a long time so the mucus came out since my turtle was starving itself. The vet said it may be a sign of a parasite or bacterial infection. :( I just hope he gets better soon with the medication that he is on. If you have any tips for dealing with parasites or infections, I would greatly appreciate it!
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Post Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2019 11:00 am   Re: Strange turtle poop

The fenbendazole is a good drug much safer than ivermectin used in the older days. It will help but takes a long time to work on all stages of a parasite. Does sound like a parasite using your turtle as a host.

Being outside there are all kind of ways parasites are introduced. Water source and even other wildlife. Fish eggs caught on birds was my biggest problem when I had an inground pond. Got some fish I never put in it and taking over my pond. You are lucky only 300 gallons. I would drain completely inspect all and see what's in there they are eating. Even break down filter may be some unwanted eggs in it. Not all turtles respond the same way or even at the same time on issues. Yes I used live fish as a food source but when all this happened I did lots of homework. Found the minniows and goldfish were not so good. All the parasites and even the thiaminase content was bad also the protozoa being introduced . Here's a list of some I found to be bad for turtle's : Yes at one time I used them / that's until I did my homework.
Family Cyprinidae (Minnows or carps):
Goldfish (Carassius auratus)
Common carp (Cyprinus carpio)
Emerald shiner (Notropis atherinoides)
Spottail shiner (Notropis hudsonius)
Rosy red, Fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas)

Yes several will disagree with this , even me 10 years ago would but when I did good research I changed my way ! Wild turtles yes eat them and can handle it differently more so than a captive turtle in a limited water supply on a controled diet. Maybe one of the reasons why wild turtles life span is much shorter than a captive turtle.
Ever hear : you are what you eat , the same for turtles too.
Check all water quality , food source and habitat.
They were introduced into your pond somehow , a break down or use a method to net and see whats in there then remove all unwanted spieces. Many start out microscopic to make sure all is removed you could get another speices fish to eat them , a breed that would be helpfull to control them and healthier for you turtles. Much easier to prevent than cure. Fenbendazole used oral is good just takes a long time to work. Will take patience on your part , good luck for the both of you and watch the other turtles for any signs too.
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Post Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2019 2:19 pm   Re: Strange turtle poop

Before my dad added a goldfish tank into the pond, my turtles were completely healthy. I do believe that these goldfish are the cause of my turtle’s illness. :( After my turtle, Bulbasaur, got sick, we completely drained the pond and cleaned it. We also separated the goldfish tank. This was about a month ago and my four other turtles have been living in it ever since. The other four are still eating and swimming normally but I’m still very anxious. I’m planning to do partial water changes a few times a week to try and improve the water quality. I may take them all to the vet too since one of my other turtle had the same abnormal stool as Bulbasaur. Is there something that I can put in the water to kill parasites? I’m too afraid to put fish into the pond again.
While he’s on fenbendazole, will I see actual worms come out? I’ve been checking the bottom of the tub that Bulbasaur is temporarily living in and also the pond and the filter everyday to see if there are worms but so far, I’ve seen none.
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Post Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2019 3:19 pm   Re: Strange turtle poop

I am a very old timer and do not believe in any chemicals. Prevention is best ! For something as small as 300 gallons outside do as you did but go further. The substrate , plants , decorations is were the microscopic problems start to hang out until there next stage of life. For 300 gallons you have a big bio load there for 5 turtles , hope they all are small. More time and attention to that will help. Can you go bigger will helps with that bio load.

Yes when it worsens a turtle’s can vomit out parasites and worms , even in there stool too. Still go with the treatment to get all stages of them. You having a small 300 gallon outdoor pond will make it easier for you to clean. Glad you broke it down already. What about any substrate in tank. I would take it all out clean and let dry completely for a day or two to kill anything in it. Any live plants ? No matter where you get them wash very well and quarantine them for a week. Do you best to prevent any hitchhikers getting into the pond. Quality food too if it looks/smells funny you would not eat it why give it to your turtles. About the only fish I kept after doing my homework was mosquito fish. Man cross breed them to get a hybrid that was/is more beneficial. Ate more than just mosquito lava. Even better no fish at all for a 300 gal tank. Also quarantine anything that goes in it.
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Post Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2019 7:16 pm   Re: Strange turtle poop

I just did a 30-40% water change with my dad and also cleaned out all of their filters and plants. I noticed these things in the filter pad. They look like worms but when I touch them, they break apart like fish poop? We have had no fish in the pond for over a month now so I’m not sure what they could be. When dried up, they look like crispy fish poop that just breaks up.
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Post Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2019 8:10 pm   Re: Strange turtle poop

Hopefully they are the whole piece's. From the picture too hard to tell what it is. As you said could just be a piece of fish poop that with all the moving things around just getting into the filter. Maybe uneaten stick food. Blowing it up even to 1000% does not look like a worm. Also the way you say it breaks up not a worm. Closest worm by a big stretch would be a flatworm ( platyhelminth). But No ! With them can make out the head end and a little tapper tail end when magnified. Others you can see segments etc... Save one for the vet as a sample , see what he/she says. Put the other under a magnifying glass inspect close then take it apart with a small pin a little at a time. With the better attention on cleaning you will see more than in the past. Keep checking all !

In front of your little finger too blurred to tell but that could be a early stage leech with the mouth end not fully developed yet ? Did you save that too ? Check that close.
Do you have a macro lens to take a picture of all pieces , would see better ? They get too blurred when I blow them up.
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Post Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2019 8:34 pm   Re: Strange turtle poop

Thanks for your input! I definitely feel better with the high probability of it not being a worm. I made sure to rinse out the filter pads super well and replaced them with new ones. So far, I placed three of my turtles back in the pond and they’re swimming around and eating.
Bubba on the other hand has been brought into the house and dry docked because I noticed some blood coming from his mouth. :( I was letting them run around in this barricade that I made for them in the backyard while we were cleaning the pond but I made sure to observe them. He didn’t suffer from any falls but when I looked into his mouth, I found this. It seems like stringy mucus/skin with blood. I placed him in a container with some water and he was eating after I pulled that out of his mouth. I’m still worried but he’s acting the same and there is no more blood coming out. The inside of his mouth was pink and I didn’t see any cuts. Could it be him straining himself from trying to climb that this happened? I’ve been stressed with college starting soon and now that my turtles are getting sick, I am extremely anxious to the point where I have trouble sleeping. I really hope he is okay.
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Post Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2019 8:42 pm   Re: Strange turtle poop

Here are some more upclose pictures. I think I did catch a worm :( The small red one definitely looks like one and it didn’t break up when I touched it.
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Post Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2019 8:43 pm   Re: Strange turtle poop

Here is the other one that I think is a worm. It’s kind of see through and looks pinkish red.
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Post Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2019 8:57 pm   Re: Strange turtle poop

Red photo looks like some kind of tissue hopefully worm tissue.

Last photo is a worm , may be trying to regurgitate some ?

Save for the vet. When is next visit to see vet or at least call him and or email photo ! May change treatment or dosage ?
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Post Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2019 9:00 pm   Re: Strange turtle poop

I will email the picture to my vet. The tissue came from my other turtle who hasn’t been to the vet yet. I am trying to schedule an appointment but I am not sure when they will be available. I just took a better picture of the worm. Will fenbendazole be able to kill these worms?
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