Feeding and Nutrition :: What should poop look like

[ryjoschool]

Okay, so I've been reading this forum for the last year (since I got my RES) but I finally have a question that I didn't find a complete answer to.

What should the poop look like as far as color and consistency goes?

Because here's the deal: for the first 6 or 8 months I had my RES (got her when she was about 1.5 yrs old) her poop was a dark brown or dark green color and it was fairly hard. I mean, it would stay together even in the water. I was feeding her the hatchling pellets. Then I moved and I also started feeding her new food - the standard reptomin sticks. After a while, meaning maybe a month or two after changing to the sticks, her poop started well, disappearing. I mean, I feed her in a separate tank (to keep things clean) and I used to come back and see her big turd in there and then I would take her out and put her back in her normal tank. Now when she is done eating, there is like a tannish powdery stuff at the bottom of the tank. She pooped this tannish powdery stuff for a few months and I didn't think much of it (maybe just the change in diet caused the change in poop). Then, like 2 days ago the old poop reappeard. I was feeding her and I saw the dark harder poop like I used to and there was no tannish powdery stuff in the feed tank.
I guess I just want to know what is normal? Is the hard dark colored poop normal? Is the tannish powdery stuff that disintegrates in the water normal? What caused the change?
FYI - I don't feed her anything else except for the sticks (I know I should probably add some variety) and I feed about 10 or so every other day and she usually eats them all.
Other than that her behavior is normal. She basks almost every night for a while and there is a heater in the tank set at 79. If you need any more info let me know.

Any help would be greatly appreciatied!

[BullDog]

This is a small, normal poop:



It may change in size, colour and consistency depending on what you feed.

This is what poop looks like as it's breaking down:


It's possible your RES was just eating her own poop (which is gross, but totally normal), and so you never saw the nuggets, you just saw the "crumbs".

A guideline for feeding pellets is about the amount of pellets that would fit inside her head if it were hollow once every two days (or a half-head every day). Not sure how 10 pellets works out, but you might want to check it out to make sure you're feeding her the right amount.
Also, be sure to check out the feeding section of the main site (http://www.redearslider.com/index_nutrition.html). There you can find all the good stuff that you can add into your turt's diet.

[ryjoschool]

Thanks for the quick response and the pics. They were helpful. I fed her and watched her eat and she wasn't eating her poop, I think I was just feeding her too much. I backed it off to like 5 or 6 sticks instead of 10 and her poop started to look like it used to and like the pictures.
Anyway thanks again

[freehes]

Oh I am so glad that I read this because I was just wondering the same thing! Thank you! I think my RES is normal besides eating his poop! HAHA! Glad that is normal.....gross....but normal!

[svaughan]

BullDog's explanation of poop breaking down is legit, however if your turtle's poop isn't hard when it comes out, there is either a dietary issue or your turtle could have parasites. Both are serious issues, so if your turtle's diet hasn't changed but it's poop is no longer solid, you should consider seeing a vet. Be sure to "salvage" some of it's poop for a sample, even though it's nearly impossible to collect. The doctor will check it for bacteria and worms.