Urgent Care :: My RES ate a SINGLE SMALL gravel!!!

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Post Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2019 9:23 am   My RES ate a SINGLE SMALL gravel!!!

Okay so, I recently had my 4-inch RES from a friend because he told me he couldn't take care of James (his name, btw) anymore. And so I kept him in an aqurium with a thin layer of aquarium gravel. At first I find it cute everytime he digs the gravel around but just recently, about an hour or two ago, I saw him ate one of the gravel!!! I know he only ate one gravel because that's the first time I put him inside the aquarium with gravel and I watched him ever since. What will happen to James?? Should I panic or what? I jusy removed all of the gravel but I'm still nervous about James :cry:
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Post Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2019 12:47 pm   Re: My RES ate a SINGLE SMALL gravel!!!

How big was the piece? If you've seen his poop around that size, it shouldn't be a problem foe him to pass it.
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steve
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Post Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2019 1:06 pm   Re: My RES ate a SINGLE SMALL gravel!!!

Regular size aquarium gravel should pass with a 4" turtle. Chances are he may of eaten more since you can't watch him 24/7. Monitor well . If his tank water is 78* feed in a separate bowl and up the water temp to 80* -82*, feed there and let him soak to help the rock ease out. They normally poop after eating. Much easier to monitor there , warm soaks helps turtles poo. May take a week to pass ? In the old days I would soak some pellets in mineral oil to help stool pass when a turtle had constipation. Works as a laxative , can help gravel pass easier too especially if impacted with them. Hopefully not that many ! Regular vegetable oil today works also. Being 4" should not be a problem to pass.
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Post Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2019 7:21 pm   Re: My RES ate a SINGLE SMALL gravel!!!

steve wrote:How big was the piece? If you've seen his poop around that size, it shouldn't be a problem foe him to pass it.


My gravel has a length of about 3 - 5 (maximum) millimeters and they don't have sharp edges as to cause internal bleeding for James. Will be able to poop it out? :cry: Thank you so much, btw! :D
Last edited by Dr. Sheldon Cooper on Mon Feb 04, 2019 7:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2019 7:24 pm   Re: My RES ate a SINGLE SMALL gravel!!!

litefoot wrote:Regular size aquarium gravel should pass with a 4" turtle. Chances are he may of eaten more since you can't watch him 24/7. Monitor well . If his tank water is 78* feed in a separate bowl and up the water temp to 80* -82*, feed there and let him soak to help the rock ease out. They normally poop after eating. Much easier to monitor there , warm soaks helps turtles poo. May take a week to pass ? In the old days I would soak some pellets in mineral oil to help stool pass when a turtle had constipation. Works as a laxative , can help gravel pass easier too especially if impacted with them. Hopefully not that many ! Regular vegetable oil today works also. Being 4" should not be a problem to pass.



So I gave him a superworm and some pellets and I saw him ate all of those, is that a good sign? I separated him in another tank. Do I still need to soak my pellets in vegetable oil? Thank you very much for the advice, I really appreciate it!!! :D
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Post Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2019 7:30 pm   Re: My RES ate a SINGLE SMALL gravel!!!

Eating is a very good sign. As long as he's eating he should poop if not impacted. I would do the warm soaks for awhile to help him with that , feed him there too , easier to monitor in separate container . Say for 30-50 minutes , easier to collect the poop in a separate container than a big tank. Then he can go back in his regular tank. The warm soaks works like a warm enema , can help him feel more comfortable pooping.
Only if things get worst and slows down eating then I would do the mineral or vegetable oil on the pellets. You could try veggies the next few days that will produce a looser stool and may help pass the gravel. Turtle that size should be on 50-70% veggies anyway.
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