Urgent Care :: Induce Pooping

[Ericj418]

Hey everyone! been a long time. My turtle- Turtle now named Bosco- is still alive though i am worried. It's been a while since i've seen him poop or poo in the tank.

I remember seeing somewhere that there is a method on inducing pooping. how do i do so again? and i also remember the need for vegetable oil? idk but yeah I am doing so because i fear turtle may have compaction. not sure yet just me being paranoid. please help!

oh and to summarize, his living conditions are good. tempature wise and water quality is all accounted for/

[marisa]

Are you sure he's not eating his poop? If he's eating food, he must be pooping.

[Ericj418]

yeah he is eating food, but i figure he's just eating cause he's a voracious eater and can't help himself

[TheComputerGremlin]

Are you sure that he isn't doing his business? I mean, you have to really watch them like a hawk to even catch a glimmer of poo, at least with my turtle! And I certainly don't watch her, in fact, I've only ever seen a whole poo twice in the 2 years I've had her. And it lasted like two seconds, and was gone.

Can you explain why you are worried about impaction? Is there or was there ever gravel in your tank? Is there sand that he might have eaten? Otherwise, with just turtle food, I would imagine that nothing should get impacted.

I know lettuce can make the poo runny, so if your turtle eats lettuce, you could try going a little overboard on the lettuce for a day or so, but beware, it can get to diarrhea-type poo quickly. I can't imagine vegetable oil being much use since it would come off the food on to the surface of the water fairly easily, but you could give it a try?

[Ericj418]

yeah sorry about the late response, i've been trying to see if he poops, and i' saw it. it was disgusting so i shall never question it again. anyway to your query about pooping and impaction, i'd rather not disclose why, but do know that Bosco has never had gravel in his tub as I have always been too poor to afford it.

Btw great call on the Lettuce, Bosco is great now!

[aal]

Why keeping the compaction a secret? Well, when you saw the poo did Bosco eat it? By the way it isn't embarrasing to ask whether your terrapin poops... Congratulations anyways.