Hello again , My large female leopard is still struggling to poo , she is regular and its once a week approx so frequency is not the problem . The problem is despite an hour in the bath ( water changed ao warm) she had strained and strained to produce a small hard round poo . Obvoiusly more to come . Is there a remedy I can give her or do I need a vet this has happened for a few weeks now , her urine has improved and is lighter than it was. I have give her more weeds grass and hay . I have tried adding dandelion root to her food , she is bathed daily .

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alicia x

opuntia cactus pads are a natural laxative. it doesnt really matter on the subspecies, just remove the biggest of the spines with a blow torch or stanley knife. 90% of africans LOVE this stuff so its no hardship to get her to eat it. keep up the bath routine and she should be ok. have you had her to the vets for a check up or xray? what substrate is she kept on and did you feed herf rom a plate/dish or straight off the floor?

She was at the vets three weeks ago they did urine and blood tests nothing found. She has top soil and sand in one section hay in another and newspaper in another she travels in all three areas but doesnt like the sand and soil part . Feed her of a plate ( well tray ). I have opuntia a small one not given it to them yet as growing but will give tonight. My humidity levels are low it has been dry due to the heating over winter 30% . Thats with a bowl of water ans spraying the room in the morning could this be the reason ? thanks for reply .

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alicia x

ok, try her with the opuntia and see if it makes a difference.

she is still pooing regularly so try not to worry. how big is she and how big is her poo compared to her?? my biggest girl is 15" scl and her poo can be as thick as a sausage , very stringy and fibrous from the grass, and as long as my arm every 7-10 days! but a juvenile thats only say, 5" will produce ALOT less, maybe as thick as a pencil and just a cm or two (sometimes more) every week. Also when i got two of mine they were fed on cabbage straight off aubiose and they were VERY bunged up. it took a month for the aubiose to stop appearing in their poo .

If the vet didnt seem worried about her being bunged up then just keep her bathing routine up and give her the opuntia. keep her warm and keep an eye on her temps too as heat has a direct affect on her digestion.

THanks , she can have the opuntia , for a constipated tort would that indicate temp to high or to low generally . Noticed she spends alot more time in the cool section than the others . She is similar size to yours and yep normally sausage type fibrous poos.

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alicia x

Didnt say it ali but thanks for all your help .

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alicia x

hi try to feed fibrous weeds like plantains and you could grate raw carrot over the lot this can help to loosen the stools as it is a natural purge and wormer. i understand she has access to grass,when they graze they tend to eat very small bite size pieces of grass these are easier for her to digest and if allowed to do this on a daily basis normally they dont have any digestive problems.
terry

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Terry I have only just the last ten days started allowing her out to be truthful as took your advice in a post I made then about her , so hopefully things may improve . Will try carrot opuntia and grazing she doesnt generally choose to eat grass but she is enjoying weeds at the moment . I will have to be imaginative in how I get her to eat grass .terry ,does in your view constipation indicate temps to low or to high , .Thanks for your help with my animals , much appreciated

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alicia x

hi im sorry i dont want to lead you astray by guessing if its to high a temperature or not thats caused the constipation i have never had a problem with this myself (i mean the tortoise LOL)but think exercise and graze could well be the answer to your problems.not all leopards will drink in the bath so need a ready supply of fresh water they can get right into for a drink and often use this as a toilet i know mine do.my adults have access outside all year although some smaller individuals dont when its really cold or wet.you would be surprised how fast they move once warmed up even in winter i think the exercise helps with their general health and well being.another thing you could try feeding to hurry things along is butternut squash i know Laraine(a moderator on shelled warriors) feeds it to hers(not on a regular basis as to much can upset the gut like pumpkin it can cause loose stools) and she has had great success rehabilitating wc juveniles with various problems.
terry

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these are my own opinions do with them what you will


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hi again a little trick to get them to graze is to mow the lawn just before you let them out mine love the smell and cant resist short cropped lawn grass.
terry

__________________
these are my own opinions do with them what you will


http://www.shelledwarriors.co.uk/