General Care Discussion :: Not pooing?

[Tenodera]

Recently I've noticed that Serra has not been pooing...Usually she poos within 15 min after eating, but I haven't seen any poo lately. I do have 2 platys in there, could they be eating the poo? Serra shows no other symptoms, eating VORACIOUSLY, actively begging, basking every night.

She's also getting a bit chubby, I think...What does any overweight turtle look like? I can' tell by seeing if she fits completely into her shell because she has NEVER ever hid into her shell before. Not even when I was taking her home!

Her food plan is usually random each day, but the choices are this:

Day1: Lettuce/dandelion( half the size of her shell) and a small worm

Day2: Lettuce/dandelion ( about the size of her shell)

Day3: Lettuce/dandelion ( half the size of her shell) and 1 reptomin

She usually gets a bit of fish food everyday since there is some fish living with her.

Once a month I give her a bit of fruit or a woodlouse

[RunninWideOpen]

Look at the back of the neck area between her head and forelegs. That's where Squirt is pudgy.

[Tenodera]

Yes thats what I mean by her being chubby...

When i first got her it usually caved inward
Now it's completely level. It doesn't stick out or in. Is this something to worry about or is it just normal for a turtle?

[RunninWideOpen]

Well I've heard they can get so fat they no longer fit in their shells, and can cause major problems or death. I've also heard, on rare occassions, it could be some kind of tumor or something causing it.

How much are you feeding her?

[Tenodera]

Not very much. Pellets that fit half of her head and veggies that fit usually half her shell or more

I don't think she has a tumour since she's very normal, basking regularly, extreme begging, exploring around my room, eating a lot, etc.

[RunninWideOpen]

Ya, I don't know a whole lot about it. I just heard that it can happen. I do know that turts are often very good at hiding any symptoms and don't always show obvious signs when something is wrong.

That sounds like the right amount of food. How often do you feed her?

[SpotsMama]

When Spot was little he'd poo right after he ate. But as he got older he stopped doing this and now it's just random - I never can tell when he's going to poo.

Maybe the platys are getting it. Maybe Serra is getting it.

With that diet it's hard to imagine how she could be getting fat. Is she growing = getting longer?

[DavidY]

I never notice any solid feces from my turtles. I know they're going cause of all the crap in the filters though.

[Kayra33]

I barely ever see my turtle go......I can tell she does by the mess in the gravel. I wouldn't worry until you notice something different about her. I think that every turtle is different though. Brooks rarely eats anything other than her ham, she eats the different plants that are in her tank but that's mostly it. Every once in awhile she likes her shrimp as a treat. When she was younger she only ever ate meat but now I'm trying to get her to try different things. She still doesn't like veggies. Mostly ham.

[industrial_girl_2000]

How big is this turtle? They will fill out a bit as they get older, and if this turtle is over 1 inch long, you can comfortably feed him/her 2 reptomin foodsticks *daily* along with the greens you are giving him/her. The babies need more nutrition than the adult RES's since they are still growing.

The amount of pellets should be the full-size of the turtle's head. Lettuce/greens are extra. They can't get fat off the lettuce so don't worry that you are feeding too much lettuce unless the turtle starts getting loose stools.

You can skip feeding the worm....they tend to carry parasites.

[xsavingsaturdayx]

I barely ever see my turtle go......I can tell she does by the mess in the gravel.

I highly suggest taking the gravel out. Your turtle can eat it and can unfortunately be unable to pass it, leaving you with the aftermath of hundreds of dollars spent at the vet (xrays, shots, etc) and a turtle, that even with qualified vet care, is prone to death because of the gravel.

Before you say "well, my turtle has never tried to eat the gravel..so i think its okay". Its not. So many people have said the exact same thing, and guess what? Sooner or later, they are posting threads practicly crying, begging for advice "we went to the vet and my turtles stomach is full of gravel, if he doesnt poop it all it within a week, he will need to go through surgery" is what we tend to hear..

River rocks, bigger than your turtles head - are a good alternative to gravel.

I read in another post that you have had your turtle for 4 years, thats quite some time, and i know that you will be devasted if anything happened to her..better safe than sorry,

[marisa]

What kind of worms are you feeding her? An occasional earthworm is good (mealworms, I'd pretty much skip). I wouldn't worry about parasites with an earthworm.

Does she like the woodlouse?

The diet actually sounds a bit skimpy to me. In the pictures I remember you posted of her, she looked fine.

[Tenodera]

Oh
I usually feed her a lot more, but I was a bit concerned recently so I gave her a bit less.The worms are earthworms, not mealworms.

Oh yea, she liked the woodlouse. She likes everything, actually...lol
Thanks for the help everyone! I guess I was just paranoid...