Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a small colony of eastern Box turtles in an outdoor enlosure. We fed them a container of earthworms purchased from a bait shop. The next day they urinated in one of the shallow saoking ponds and the water turned green. It looked like antifreeze, so much so that at first I thought that was what is was.

We have a small female in a seperate enclosure who ate the same worms and she did the same thing. They seem to be fine, still active eating everything offered, just curious why that coloration. They have eaten worms plenty of times before and never seen this before

There are two reasons for this that I can think of. Some earthworms sold in pet shops actually glow in the dark. I'm not kidding! They are sometimes referred to as "nitro worms". They have apparently spliced a gene from some other invertebrate that manufactures illuminescent compounds in its body into an earthworm's DNA. Now, they breed true. The color can sometimes be faint, but they do have a general overall greenish or yellowish tint. Is it possible that you could have purchased these worms instead, or maybe there was even one nitro worm mixed in from the culture facility?

Reason #2 is more sinister. Liver problems in herps and birds can sometimes show up as greenish excreta. I'd seek veterinary help if you can identify the turtle who has the green urine.

Good luck with this, I hope everything turns out ok.

Often worms packed for fishing are in a paper pulp product.

Various chemicals are used to keep the worm's metabolism slow, and hyper hydrated, to extend shelf life.

I'd remove fishing worms from their containers and bedding and keep them in peat moss or some other natural bedding( for 5 days or longer) to cleanse their system out before using them as feeders.

That should eliminate your boxies green urine.

Ric

While enough green to colour the water noticeably is remarkeable, sometimes a green tinge is apparent due to reptiles excreting biliverdin instead of bilirubin. If it persists excessively I would consult a veterinarian, but the odd green tinged urates is not a problem.

Ian