General Care Discussion :: eating poop... yes, poop!!!

[cchipres]

[quote="zoologist"]turtles eat their own poop because their bodies don't process all of the nutrients. the poop still contains valuable nutrients so they eat it up to get them. I assure you, I don't let her eat her poop. It is netted out quickly and her tank is kept clean.

[zoologist]

Wow, that's.... that's pretty horrible dude, i'm not going to lie.


you really need to reconsider your set up. go to the photo gallery or the indoor habitat section and look at the tanks. You're way off.

[Daniel3507]

you seriously just have a "water box"? with water thats only 4 inches high? thats terrible. they are AQUATIC turtles meaning they live in water. water they can swim in thats warm, filtered and alot deeper than 4 inches. and i have never heard of a turtle squawking. you really need to read over the main site and fix your set up ASAP.

[bradmeisel]

You really need a big tank for your little guy. It does sound interesting the way the RES has acted with you.

This site has alot of great info on how to keep your turtle healthy and happy. Give it a look.

[Sassamo]

Sorry for the thread Hijack, but cchipres does Parker have basking lights? UVA and UVB?
It sounds like she lives the life a tortious should live not an aquatic turtle.
How do you feed her? The water box sounds way too small for her too eat in, let alone swim too her hearts content.

[cchipres]

Parker does just fine in her water pool which is very spacious. Her tank water is kept very clean.

[Daniel3507]

its cruel to not provide a tank. a turtle should swim. its what they do. its what they have done for hundreds of years. and they should be able to do it constantly, not just when you fill the bath tub up. just because they are climbing doesnt mean its happy with its set up. you need to fix your turtles living conditions immediately.

[zoologist]

i've been PMing back and forth with cchipres, and we're gonna get the set up fixed up

[mikee]

Two things. Yep, turtles do eat thier own poo and any other turtle or living thing that may be in the tank. Secondly, turtles need a lot of water to be healthy. That water must be filtered properly which it needs to be ran through a filter at least 5 times per hour. Yep, at least 5 times per hour.
When purchasing your filter think in term of gph and not some gallonage that a pet store is pushing. m.

[wilso720]

I just caught my turtle eating his poo! I was browsing the turtle topics posted today and I look up and he has this statue pose like a child being caught stealing from a cookie jar. While it was cute, its kinda gross. I guess I am glad you dont really snuggle up with a turtle...

[bigG]

My female RES eats her own, too. I've fed her outside in another tank, let her walk around the patio, and put her back in the outdoor tank but she usually won't defecate until she's brought back to the indoor tank. In fact, I've let her walk inside the entire house and she'll wait until she's placed back in the indoor tank and then she "recycles".

[goatfarmer123]

I had to fight Leah for some poo the other day. It was me with a turkey baster trying to get the poo out before she ate it and I am sad to say that she won! I must hone my turkey-baster poo retrieval skills.

[bigG]

My female RES "recycles" everything she eats and my male RES doesn't.

[EmperorTunaFish]

I had to fight Leah for some poo the other day. It was me with a turkey baster trying to get the poo out before she ate it and I am sad to say that she won! I must hone my turkey-baster poo retrieval skills.

Haha.

My turtle will stop whatever he's doing to eat fresh poo. Doesn't matter what it is, poo is #1. I'm the same about wings, but I've never compared the two.

[bradmeisel]

hehe