Loose stool
 

Hi all, I have been feeding my tort with Florette salad these days since I cannot get any weed. I noticed that the faeces aint firm...just very loose, and sometimes it seems there are some poor-digested food...is it because these salad has low fiber and quite high water content?

What should I do? I mix my salad with pre-alpin, and 1-2 days a week I feed them pellet. I managed to find some Campenula and am feeding to them...hope it will help???

Temperature is 32C under the spot, and ~20C around the cold end.

it's the salad that does it. pre alpin should help if they will eat it

That's the problem - mine dont eat pre-alpin, I read that someone managed to feed their torts just pre-alpin, how do they do it!!!!

but is it bad for my tort if she keeps eating salad leaves?

Salad leaves are about 95% water so they get little in the way of nutrition. you can use other stuff like spring greens and curly kale I think for fibre but has to be sparingly. if you mash up some pre alpin with a couple of pellets they will eat them or strawberry juice mixed into the pre alpin. there is still plantain about, excellent for fibre

You could try the Ultima dried weed mix, you just sprinkle it on to the salad. I've only just started using it but my Ovid seems to love it and I think that it must be good and nutritious.

Here is the link:

http://www.tortoiseworld.co.uk/shop/item.asp?itemid=45

Or, mix the P. Alpin pre soaked with the pellet pre soaked, mash it up.

A good way to firm it up is to feed more roughage. I would suggest you feed your salad leaves in the morning and in the afternoon, some dried weeds, easily obtained from most large pet stores for rabbits. They have a nice mixture. Check the contents first as there are different makes with different weeds in. If you have some porridge oats at home, put about half a teaspoon in a little drop of water, then mix with the dried leaves, make sure you give them a good spray. Oats will help to line the gut and hopefully improve the stool structure. As it is colder, you could also try upping the temperature a degree. Undigested food is usually the result of low temperatures and the tortoise not warming up enough.

Oh that's new! Does anyone else feed oats?
I wondered whether upping the temps might help as well, but you can find plantain throughout thge winter most places.

okok that's for all the tips! I will try to get some dried weed/plants for her...maybe i should up the amount of pre-alpin so to force her to take in more!!

Most of the dried tortoise pellets are cereal based, except for Pre Alpin. Oats are the best for any digestive problem because of the mucilage but only in small quantity for tortoises not eating/Anorexia or getting their weight up. I prefer to feed a natural green leaf diet to my tortoises.