Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well I bought a russian tortoise monday...his shell is about 5" long & he's seems to be pooping alot...well 2 or 3x's a day...I took him outside yesterday & I watch him poop & then he kinda dragged his tail through it...the poop's not wicked liquidy, just a tad moist...I've been feeding him a handful of spring mix 2x's a day sprinkled with calcium powder...I was just wondering if the whole poop situation seems normal...I was also wondering if it's ok to feed him tomatos...I was going to try some cucumbers today...thanks

Spring mix, grocery greens (mustard greens, collards, etc.), cucumber & tomato (in small quantities) are all OK foods.

BUT, they don't have much fiber. And this will lead to more frequent and gooey poop.

My russians will eat grass when they live outdoors. In fact, during the summer their fecal pellets are full of grass. They also eat clover, dandelion plants, plantain, and various other, tough, fibrous weeds.

Their poop is very solid. Even when the weeds die out (midsummer heat wave) and they get a lot of grocery greens, they still eat grass and have solid poops.

So try to give your tort some high fiber items. A little grass or soaked timothy hay, finely chopped, or some chemical-free weeds, can make a difference. Just mix it into the greens, all chopped together.

Some of the tortoise pellet foods, like Mazuri, RepCal, or Pretty Pets, also have good fiber levels - better than grocery greens. Mixing a little of that into the diet can help when you can't get other high fiber items.

They still poop a lot, but it isn't as messy. And the fiber is good for their digestive tract.

"My russians will eat grass when they live outdoors. In fact, during the summer their fecal pellets are full of grass. They also eat clover, dandelion plants, plantain, and various other, tough, fibrous weeds."

i agree with brad. my herd (also outside) eats lots of grass. many will say, and it's in much of the tort care literature that russians don't eat grass. they may not take what's in someone's lawn, but grow a variety of grasses and they'll find the ones they like.

okay, so you can't get yours to eat grass. then what? one of the things i find very helpful to good digestion and solid poops is to grind up timothy and orchard grass in a meat grinder or blender and mix this in with their greens. this way they don't get bothered by the long pieces of straw and it goes down with the rest.

increased fiber is more important than many realize. it promotes fermentation, cuts down on parasite load, and enables better nutrient metabolism and absorption. it's too important to overlook.

if you have plantain (the broadleaf weed) around, offer it to them, they love it. keep the tomatoes and cucumbers to a minimum if you want to (FTF) firm the feces.

matt