Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a juvenille RES. His diet includes carrots (lots, its the only vegie he'll eat), bloodworms, snails, fish, and pellets. A couple days ago i walked in on him going to the bathroom. What leads me to believe that he is constipated is the feces was half-dollar sized and coiled. Since then I have watched him try to use the restroom, but he cannot push it out. I was afraid to feed him his usual diet and 'clog up' his system, so I am currently only feeding him a few pellets each morning. Is there anything I can do other than wait it out? I'm worried that he wont be able to go to the bathroom without help. Could I give him ex-lax or something like that?

No, human medications are never meant to be given to turtles, and there are very few exceptions to that. So, assuming that you don't want to kill it, don't give it a medication meant for people, ever.

You have some options...a trip to the vet isn't a bad idea...they can do a fecal exam to rule out problems with parasites, etc. and can also do an x-ray to see if there is built up fecal matter, constipation, an intestinal blockage, etc.

You mentioned what you feed him...describe your set-up. Do you use rocks or sand at the bottom of your tank?

I've heard pumpkin pulp works good to flush a turtle out...but, i would def'n go see a vet first! Better safe than sorry with these little guys
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~walnut~
Turtle Pics
1 Dog- Mollianna Mae
1 Cat- Macey Montana
2 Red Eared Sliders- Gator and No-No
2 Beta- Swamp and Swims
4 Fish- One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

Are you sure it wasn't his penis? What you describe sounds like "fanning" they push their penis out through the slit in their tail, it is huge and dark, and then they suck it back in.
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His penis huh? Has anyone else seen this? Are there any pictures of a RES doing this behavior? He did use the bathroom while I was cleaning out his tank and he was in the sink. The feces was a totally different color and texture (light brown and sand-like) but the penis/poop I had seen before was dark dark brown and looong.

As for the question about his setup. I have a 20 gallon that i fill to the top with dechlorinated water. There are no rocks/sand at the bottem. I have a plant 'potted' in a babyfood jar. I have 2 whisper canister filters and one of those floating rocks from zoomeds.

I'll keep my camera handy and try to get a picture of him doing this. All this time i thought he was a she because of her/his long nails.

oops forgot something........I have a uva/uvb light and a heat lamp above the floaty rock.

When his penis/poop comes out, Fluffy(my RES) uses his back legs and feet to sort of hold onto or pull it out. Is this normal?

Long nails means you have a male, and yes, the behavior you describe is fanning his penis.
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If he pushes out this dark grayish to black rather unsightly blob then has it hang there for a few and then it retracts it is his penis. He is just fanning it and not to worry. That would be my guess as you said that he did go normally when you took him out of the tank to clean it.