Urgent Care :: White poop?

[JoanneM]

Help... my female RES is making white rubber poo's. I'm not kidding. Is this something to do with reproduction?

[jenaero]

sounds like she's laying eggs. Is she doing this in the water or on her basking spot? Either way, here's a link for making a nesting site. http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/Nestsites.htm

[JoanneM]

She's doing it in the water. Is the white stuff egg?
or is she getting ready to lay?
My tank is fairly basic... pebbles at the bottom and a bridge to bask on. Do you have any suggestions on making a nesting area for her?

[jenaero]

i posted a link for building a nesting site on the post above. She's laying already. You should build a nest asap because she may still have more to lay.

[marisa]

I have to ask--are these really eggs, or is your turtle's poop white? The reason I'm asking is that in one of your earlier posts you said you had two RES hatchlings. One of them is laying eggs?

If your question is about one of your hatchlings, what has the turtle been eating?

If your turtles aren't hatchlings, how big are they (shell length from the scute behind the neck down to the one above the tail not including the curve of the shell)?

[jenaero]

woah. I must have missed that post referring to hatchlings. When she referred to it as white and rubbery, the first thing that came to mind was eggs. Maybe I jumped the gun on that.

[marisa]

The eggs would be oval, but I would think they could be distinguished as eggs. JoannM...?

[lilhemc]

my brother's been calling me these few days and reporting about some white foamy things floating on the water. he saids, foamy, floating, small, grainy, and look like flocks! I am not sure what they are, the first thing that i thought was white waste. I don't know what to tell him. He said he cleans the white things every day, but they keep coming back, usually in the morning. I Wonder what they are or what might have caused it.

[steve]

Could this be mucus or urates? What are the turts being fed?

A pic might be helpful for us, however he should be observing the turtle to try and find out where it's coming from so he can treat it.

[lilhemc]

here's a picture



that's not a very clear picture, but the white specks are...

he's just been feeding him Wardley's Turtle Delite (dried shrimps).

[cam722]

Does he have a cuttlebone in his tank?? I know I see little white specks in my tank when they've been munching on it. It's the only thing I can think of unless its pieces of dead skin.

[lilhemc]

no, he doesn't have cuttlebone. could it be mucus?? i am not sure.. but not cuttlebone? he said it only appears over night, in the morning.



here's a second picture...

[marisa]

Are we looking at the tiniest bits of whatever on the bottom? It looks like bits of leftover food (shrimp). Is the turtle fed in the tank? If so, he could try feeding him in a separate container of water and leaving him in the container for a bit. If whatever is left on the bottom looks like what is in the picture, bits of shrimp are probably it. If the turtle poos, he could also compare.

BTW. feeding only shrimp is extremely unhealthy and is going to lead to health problems (it is too high in protein to be more than an occasional treat). A pellet should be a staple (Wardley's is not the best) along with other foods for variety (do some reading in the Feeding and Nutrition Forum). Let us know if leftover food isn't the problem.

[steve]

my guess would be food also, tell him to check 20 minutes after he's fed them.

[lilhemc]

He said it couldn't be food, because he feeds the turtle during the day. and he only sees those white stuff in the morning, the white things only appear overnight, never during the day. and he hardly see any black poop. And those white things float, not on the bottom. I don't know...