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I recently adopted a RES, she was kept in gravel which I have removed from her tank. She did not poop for an entire month! After waiting and waiting I have seen small amounts come out. My problem is, sometimes I walk into the room and a HUGE piece of poop is coming out. (She is about 5 inches long and this poop is easily the size of a quarter or larger!) It seems like such a struggle for her that eventually she just gives up and it goes back in. I’ve tried reaching in with the net, and recent desperate times my hand, to try to at least break off the piece hanging out of her..but obviously this scares her and again the poop goes back in. Should I just have a little more patience to wait and see if this huge chunk will pass? I’m getting so worried. She has proper set up, a 40 gallon tank, heater, UVB light, and basking platform. What can I feed to induce a good poop?! Please help.


How big is your turtle? 5 inches
How long have you had it? 2 months

What is the water temperature? 76-78 degrees F
Did you use a thermometer? yes
Are you using a water heater? yes
How much water is in there? 25 gallons in a 40 gallon tank
Are you using a water conditioner? yes
Are you using any filtration? yes

What is the basking temperature? 85-89 degrees F
Is there a basking light? yes
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? yes
What kind is it or what is it made out of? cork bark
Is there a UVB light? yes

What have you been trying to feed it? ReptoMin sampler: shrimp, krill, pellets. Romaine lettuce weekly
When was the last time your turtle ate? today

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 40 gallon
Is the tank near a window? no
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? no, visits from me daily

Have you read the Basic Care section? yes
Have you searched the forums for similar situations? yes, couldn't find any other posts about poop coming out, then going back in

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms? I know this must be painful for the turtle which is why she gives up. What can I feed to help her pass this massive poop??


***I would also like to note that yes, I've seen a turtle penis and I know for sure she is a female and that this is NOT the large thing coming in and out of her tail

Are you sure it is poop coming out of her? What is the color of the stuff coming out of her? Cause the way you you described it to me is that she might have a intestinal porlapse. Poop shouldnt just go back up in, it would probably break off. Google that and see what ya think if that might be her problem.

I haven't been able to catch a photo of it, but I just found this post on youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcp4dF-mhz0

This is the only similar occurrence of this I could find online. Only other way to explain it...looks like turtle is sitting on a big rock but it is coming out of her tail.

so if this is a prolapse...what now?! I am so worried

Although I'm still not fully convinced...after hours of research I feel like this is a good news, bad news situation.

Good news: It's a BOY! Which to me IS good news because I was worried about having a girl RES since they do grow larger and eventually start laying eggs. As long as this "fanning" only rarely happens and keeps going back in, I'll assume there is no problem. Which means that I have a healthy and obviously HAPPY turtle! (Only thing that gets me is the front nails are very short and I know he must still be impacted from the gravel, which has made his back end swell up... Even the vet assured me it was a female.)

Bad news: I've been worried about my turtle's boner for the past four weeks sheesh...maybe an administrator should move this post out of the "Urgent" thread, LOL sorry. I'm a new turtle owner and this is by FAR the weirdest, but most enjoyable, animal I've had the pleasure of caring for.

I thought you said you sure it wasnt a boy, if you think you have a boy then then him showing off is normal and as long as it keeps going back in you have nothing to worry about. It is a normal things for males to do. Any chance you could post a picture of your turtle to confirm you have a male?

It scares her every time I try to do a photo shoot. The first few are when I initially adopted her. She was kept in a 2 gallon tank the first two years of her life. I immediately put her in a 15 gallon (all I had) without knowing the gravel was harmful. After researching, I removed the gravel and upgraded to a 40 gallon. The last few photos are the upgraded tank. Like I said she gets scared and tries to hide..so these are the best I can come up with... Thank you for taking the time to advise me I really had no idea what I was getting into with this turtle (should probably start referring to as HIM now) and it worries me about the type of care being provided by people who do not know or care enough to research!

cont...

You do have a boy. When a male exposes himself like that, it's called "fanning".

Yep tail definitely looks like a boys tail in those pics.

Huge tail. No doubt, it's a boy.