Mar
13
we live in Florida and have seen 2 gopher turtles in our dog run area eating there poop(dog waste)why is this?
Byis this normal for them to eat poop.why are thy eatting this and is it normal?we have our run fenced in and they the turtles are digging there way in to eat.
5 Comments
March 13th, 2010 at 4:28 pm
stop them its not normal that i know of
March 13th, 2010 at 4:40 pm
put a stop to it, its weird
March 13th, 2010 at 4:41 pm
not normal funky dogs
March 13th, 2010 at 5:30 pm
That is awesome that you have these torts in your yard. They are eating the poo for the protien which is not unusual, however, this is not healthy for them to be doing so. I would contact your nearest zoo’s reptile expert and ask them for a good solution. Keep those endangered torts safe!
March 13th, 2010 at 6:13 pm
This is very normal. It is called coprophagy. Tortoises in the wild will often seek out sources of protein that their normal vegetarian diet doesn’t offer. Sulcata tortoises in the wilds of the sub-Sahara in Africa are known for eating carrion, a fact most owners of these animals are unaware of. And all tortoises will eat dog crap. This will actually result in rapid growth. A little disgusting to watch, but safe unless the dog is on heartworm medicine. Some heartworm medicines have a chemical which is poisonous to tortoises.