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The normal feces of a tortoise consist of fecal material. This usually appears as an odiferous formed mass consisting of the end products of digestion. The color, consistency, and volume of the feces will vary depending on what the tortoise is ingesting.

But for the most part, the feces will be brown or greenish-brown. A healthy turtle/tortoise produces quite firm, well-formed feces. If they contain undigested food or are runny, consult your vet to rule out the possibility of parasites. Have a stool sample analyzed. If this isn’t the case, then a low fiber diet is the culprit.

Tortoises produce urine and urates. Urine is the liquid portion stored in the urinary bladder. Urine contains waste products and toxins that are filtered from the bloodstream. Reptiles also have one more type of excretion product, called urates or uric acid.

This is the end product of protein digestion and is also stored in the urinary bladder as a creamy, off-white pasty semi-solid. In reptiles, uric acid is cleared from the bloodstream by the kidneys.

When the tortoise urinates, it will pass the liquid urine and the semi-solid urates at the same time. A tortoise will urinate and defecate at the same time, which leaves urate deposits on the fecal material. This will make the feces white or off-white.

Gut Flora… Sounds Like A Bouqette For Your Tummy?

Many turtles and tortoises evolved a rather remarkable gut flora and fauna (bacteria, protozoans, worms). Purging often destroys both good and bad gut flora and fauna. This gut flora and fauna are needed to assist in the breakdown of plant material.

New studies are showing specifically, turtles and tortoises that are close kin have more similar gut microbiota. This similarity is due to vertical transfer from mother to offspring. It also occurs through sibling association.

Biologists are noticing that juvenile tortoises are much more selective in their foraging. They observe that juveniles are born with simple gut microbial communities. Most importantly, they have to “diversify” as they grow up.

What makes a good gut? The ingestion of bone, stones, and soil has been observed in a variety of domestic and wild tortoises. Provide a huge variety in the diet. The animal will normally know what to eat and when.

Tortoise Poop Is Important???

There is no doubt that what comes out of the working end of a tortoise is rich, fertile, natural fertilizer.

In new research, Dr. Cynthia Froyd of Swansea University took samples of soil throughout the Galapagos. She tested them for the types of environments recorded. She also tested them for the species present.

They found that 500 years ago, they found “dung-affiliated” fungi, suggesting a large, plant-eating organism dominated the area. Since there aren’t other options for living in the Galapagos wetlands, the only option was the tortoises.

Tortoises roamed freely across the islands before humans arrived. Yet, starting in the 16th century, their numbers declined drastically. Their population decreased from 250,000 to 14,000 by 1970. Additionally, 5 of the original 14 subspecies have gone extinct.

At the same time, wetlands began drying up, a change recorded by the soil samples. About 500 years ago, the tortoise feces vanished, and at the same time, the plants changed.

The freshwater wetlands once populated large areas of the Galapagos. These wetlands dried up, and the plants supported by them began dying. They started disappearing and even going extinct.

The plants that supported those wetlands relied on the tortoises in several ways. These include fertilization and churning up the ground as they walked through. Spreading seeds during the process.

The tortoises were a keystone species. Once they began dying, the entire ecosystem surrounding them died with them.

How Do You Recognize What Kind Of Animal Is Pooping?

Of course, you will see lots of roughage like grass in your tortoise’s poop. But what about other species of animals?

The first step to identifying pests by droppings is understanding what food the droppings are from. This can be insects, fruit, grass, rodents, etc.

There are many general categories of animal poop:

• Small to medium-sized rodents: mice, rats, squirrels, chipmunks, etc.

• Larger animals: raccoons, possums, skunks, groundhogs, woodchucks, etc.

• Insects: cockroaches, termites, and bed bugs
  • Bats: Many different species of bats
  • Reptiles: snakes and lizards

There is a wonderful article full of information. Click here to read…

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