A little concerned

[Kirstymoosh]

Hi
I haven't had my horsefields tortoise long. And he seems happy , eating well , however i am a little concerned as i found that his faeces is not dioreah, but more watery than useual,
Is this normal? Or am i feeding him wrong?
At the moment he is eating, Kale, dandilion leaves, spinache, cabbage, and the occasional bit of carrot.

any help would be greatly appreciated . thanks. x

[dreamer]

Could be the diet, veg in general shouldn't really be fed - dandilion leaves are ok but not all the time. They need a good variety of weeds. Theres a weed thread on this site and on shelled warriors shop website they sell weed seed packets for tortoises.
Hope this helps.

[70ridgeway]

i would certainly say it was the diet,i was under the understanding that kale,spinach and cabbage was part of the brassica family and if fed as a stable diet can cause damage such as blocked calcium absorption.You should feed a weed based diet sow thistle dandys,plaintine there are so many weeds popping up every were but make sure you dont take weeds were any insecticides could have been used.

[dreamer]

A quote from the tortoise trust website (very good for tort care) that i thought might be useful to you :

"Suitable dietary items for Mediterranean and Desert tortoises can include:
Romaine or red leaf lettuce, in very limited quantities. Never use head lettuces such as iceberg, head lettuces contain very little in the way of adequate vitamins or minerals. Opuntia (spineless) prickly pear cactus, pads and fruit. Sometimes referred to as "Nopales", the fruit are often referred to as "tunas", watercress, dandelion, naturally occurring non-toxic weeds, hibiscus flowers and leaves, white (Dutch) clover, both leaves and flowers, rose leaves and petals, and sowthistle.
Most land tortoises can and do fare quite well when allowed to graze, offering the other listed items as supplements. Never offer cabbage, spinach, chard, bok choy, or any vegetable related to these, as they inhibit calcium absorption and can cause tremendous health problems."

[Mrs Mental]

Yep would agree that it does sound like it's his diet - have a good look through the thread that is stickied at the top of the page and Im sure you'll see lots of pics of weeds that you'll recognise. I use 100% weed diet with my Horsfield and two spur thighs and havent had any problems

[LiamRatSnake]

He could be weeing?

[wizzasmum]

Originally Posted by 70ridgeway

i would certainly say it was the diet,i was under the understanding that kale,spinach and cabbage was part of the brassica family and if fed as a stable diet can cause damage such as blocked calcium absorption.You should feed a weed based diet sow thistle dandys,plaintine there are so many weeds popping up every were but make sure you dont take weeds were any insecticides could have been used.

While that is not a good diet, it would not likely cause diarrhoea. I would get him tested for parasites.