Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have had my Leopard tortoise for 4 years now and I have never seen this before.

This morning I picked up my Leopard and saw something hanging from his tail area. I assumed it was poop, but upon further inspection I found that it was not. Some type of fleshy internal organ about 3 inches in lengh was hanging out. When I picked up the tortoise whatever this was sucked back inside.

If this was what I think it was, what an endowed tortoise. This tortoise is only about 7 inches in length.

also, I have this tortoise on primarily sand and coconut bark, do these subtrates pose any threat to my tortoises organs hanging out. Whatever it was looked pretty dirty when it went back inside.

Please Help! freaked out, Cary

It could be a prolapsesd penis or intestine. It is likely a penis since he sucked it back in. You can google it and see if that is what it looked like.

im pretty sure it was the penis. do you think the wood chips, sand, and coconut bark will cause any issues?

You can soak your tort in lukewarm water, this should release any of the debris. If it gets stuck go to a vet immediately. Usually, they can pull it back in with little to no problem.

Thank you for your help. Would you say this is a fairly common behavior?

It's not an uncommon occurence and if it persists and becomes caked with debris it can cause serious problems and require amputation. I, when presented one in the clinic, soak and remove all the debris and necrotic tissues that are easily removed and lube and replace with the help of a q-tip. Depending on the amount of inflammation/irritation it may have to be done numerous times or even require purse-string sutures to keep it in place until irritation resolves...worst case scenario is amputation.