Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My Russian eats his substrate (Timothy Hay )... is that Okay??

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It is quit common for them to do this. The extra ruffage is good for them. Just make sure you keep his cage clean.

Agreed but if he and the any other torts in his enclosure are healthy an occaisional "deposit" that gets missed in the cleaning and is recycled won't really harm them.

I have on several occaisions been greeted by one of my redfoots with a nice brown "moustache". It's nasty and I do my best to get things out before they get to them but sometimes you miss.

Steve

Often this is done due to a lack in diet, and was at least once thought to be of possible benifit. However there is great risk involved in alowing this to continue. Parrisites are transmited in the fecal matter. (I have no duaght that my friend Ed will have something to say about this) Some people believe that some parrisites are of use to the hoast. Therefore they let or encurage this nasty habit.
I on the other hand beleive the only good parasite is a dead one!
I just can't conviece my 9 mnth old pug to keep her mouth out of the cats litter box. Then she wants kisses after-words. Now thats NASTY!!!!

Daught?????... did you say Daught????? Regardless of the spelling I really don't think it is the result of a deficiency. I believe that because of the crudeness of their digestive tract they are programed to 'redigest' what was eaten.
Ed

Anyway that is a good point. Maybe thats is kind of like cows chewing on their cud. However it just can't taste better the second time around!!!!!

I heard a realy sound bite on The "Bob and Tom" morning radio show a few years back. "You can irradiate poop, and it will be sterile, but it is still poop" I think this fits!!!

np
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Sohni
Northern California

0.1 Baja de L.A. Rosy Boa
0.1 Okeetee Corn Snake
1.1 Rubber Boas
1.0 Leopard Gecko
0.0.1 Hermann's Tortoise
plus my kids' herps:
0.0.1 California King Snake
1.0 Mexican Rosy Boa
0.1 Leopard Gecko

If my post didn't put everyone off their feed, yours certainly should. YUK!! Another good reason not to let dogs lick your face. If you need another reason.....think about where they like to lick on their own bodies before they lick you!

And do you know why they like there. It's because they can!

Parasites aren't beneficial to any animal, but certain bacteria definitely are. Most mammals and some herbivorous reptiles have special bacteria in their gut which helps them to break down food also keep harmful bacteria from getting a foothold in the digestive system. Many times, people can't figure out why their tortoise just never seems to get really healthy after it is treated with antibiotics, or even sometimes panacur. The reason in that the good bacteria have been killed off from the treatment and the tortoise isn't getting the nutrients from the food it eats. There are ways of reintroducing the bacteria.

Speaking of parasites, not many people like to deal with the realilty that most humans carry plenty of them around at all times. If you have a dog or cat, the chances are extremely high that you have some. You know when a dog licks your face? How many people know that this is a common way for the dog to inadvertently transfer tapeworm or hookworm eggs to his human buddy? The tapeworm lays it's eggs in the digestive tract, and if it lays the eggs in the upper tract, when the dog makes those little coughing and sneezy noises, he often brings up the eggs into his mouth. Then, he licks your face and the eggs are deposited on your skin. Later, when you lick your lips or touch your face with your hand and then scratch your eye or put your hands to your mouth, you ingest the eggs and you now have a few new little friends.

Sorry, hope I didn't ruin anybody's apatite.

Well, since catching the dog coming out of the bathroom with kitty litter stuck to his nose, he doesn't lick anyone's face! I'm sure you're right about parasite ingestion; it would be difficult to avoid entirely, especially in children. Anyone who has taken care of young children knows that it's not the most sanitary undertaking--I've been pooped on, peed on, barfed on more than once, and I'm sure there was some fecal ingestion in there somewhere. Handwashing goes a long way, but there are times when...ew, never mind, I won't go there. You get my point.

I have read numerous times that some people suggest feeding hatchling torts "clean" feces to help them grow healthy gut flora (same advice for torts that have undergone antibiotic treatment). This seems to be especially popular in Britain. Personally, I wouldn't go out of my way to do it. I don't think finding an absolutely "clean" sample is as easy as it sounds. Why risk it when a healthy tortoise will develop healthy gut flora on its own?
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Sohni
Northern California

0.1 Baja de L.A. Rosy Boa
0.1 Okeetee Corn Snake
1.1 Rubber Boas
1.0 Leopard Gecko
0.0.1 Hermann's Tortoise
plus my kids' herps:
0.0.1 California King Snake
1.0 Mexican Rosy Boa
0.1 Leopard Gecko