Urgent Care :: How much poop is too much poop?

[cutepanda86]

Hello all.

Two nights in a row now, Sheldon has pooped a considerable quantity, after basking for most of the day. The reason for my concern is that I haven't seen him poop this much ever. Each time seems like it's half his body weight.

I know this is a little gross but I'm wondering if I should call the vet in the am.

For those wanting more details - poop is usual color and it is mostly in the usual shape - big cylinders with some little ones with some lettuce leftovers.

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

Cutepanda

[steve]

I don't recall this kind of thing. Is he behaving normally? Can you reduce the amount of pellets he gets? You might want to grab a sample if you do decide to see a vet.

[cutepanda86]

He seems fairly normal with this exception - unless blinking a lot counts as odd. Ever since he ate that basking platform, I've been keeping a closer eye on the tank environment. Nothing is missing so I'm wondering if he's plugged up from the pellets. This is the first time I'm using Wardley ones.

Thanks Steve.

[cutepanda86]

Ok, now I know something is wrong. He refused his lettuce - which he has only ever done when he was blocked up by that basking platform - and he seems not the happy-go-lucky turtle he usually is.

I'm calling the vet.

[Kansasslider]

Hope its nothing serious.

[cutepanda86]

My vet is on vacation - luckily it turns out there are two more turtle vets in the area that I didn't know about. I made an appointment for tomorrow.

In the meantime - should I give Sheldon a warm soak or should I wait to see what the doctor says?

[cutepanda86]

I'm getting more worried about Sheldon. The doctor appointment can't come quick enough.

He's really lethargic. No lettuce but still taking a few pellets. I'll be checking to see if he poops again.

[steve]

Hope everything turns out well! Not sure what to think of all this. Whenever there is unusual pooping, I usually just offer a small amount of pellets and observe for anything else.

[cutepanda86]

Me too, thanks Steve. I noticed that his heater has been struggling due to this incredibly cold snap we're having. I'm keeping the apartment at 73 but it isn't enough to compensate for the heater slowing down. I've ordered a larger one that I can use for the next tank upgrade too.

He took some pellets - did not poop last night. He was really mopey and he keeps blinking so this morning I dry docked him while I got ready for work. He seemed to perk up. Still, I'm concerned about his skin being pinkish near his butt. Heading to the vet's in 2 hours. Let you know how it goes.

[cutepanda86]

Ok so here's the scoop - the vet at Seneca Animal Hospital - was the sweetest ever. He was excited to see Sheldon and was very caring and ran some tests. His diagnosis - winter stinks and I need to keep an eye on the water temperature. Sheldon is clear of parasites and in his words - "She's as healthy as a horse".

That's right - two vets have voted - and they concur - Sheldon is in fact, a Shelda. While It'll be hard to start calling he a her - I'm just glad that the doctor is as awesome as my regular doctor and since Sheldon seemed very mobile and happy and nothing looked off, that only if the legarthy persisted after adjusting the temps that I should call again and he'd actually x-ray and do blood tests. It's so nice to have found another vet that is willing to not just run up the tests that aren't necessarily necessary.

I've ordered a new heater and I hope it comes shortly. The old one is apparently just that - old. Hopefully things warm up soon. Thanks for all the warm thoughts. I know Sheldon appreciated them too.

[Kansasslider]

You can't count on your heater you need a good thermometer. She is in great hands! I'm glad everything turned out good. Something to keep in mind is they sometimes change behavior during winter. Biological clock if you will.

[cutepanda86]

I'm getting one of those too. It seems that the old heater and the thermometer bit it at the same time. Luckily, I can count on the pet store to have a stock of those - regrettably not for the heater. Waiting on Big Al's on the heater.

The doctor said that that was possible. She's never had a problem before but this is the coldest winter we've had since I got her and the heater is the only thing that survived the tank upgrade so its old and the warranty long shot.

Well as I told the vet - better a nervous nelly than to be unprepared.

[steve]

How's he doing today? I don't think temps alone would have caused the pooping, but who knows. My turtles are acting a little weirder this winter too.

[cutepanda86]

Well I have to say that today is much better. Not as bummed and was excited to see me this evening when I got home. There was more poop but not massive quantities as before - of course I didn't feed Sheldon that much yesterday so not surprising.

The vet thought that the really cold weather is what is messing things up. However, the water temps are off and the heater is malfunctioning. The new one should be here by Monday or Tuesday. Meantime, I turned up the furnace and I've been adding warm water to the tank. It seems to be helping. Sheldon is still basking so the vet says that, that is a positive. If she wasn't, then we'd be in trouble.

It only got up to 11 today and the temperature dropped into the single digits with wind chills in the minus teens. We're not heading for a slight warm up until the weekend. Ugh.

[steve]

What kind of thermometer are you getting? As long as it's not a digital probe, you should be good.