1134. A constipated star tortoise who eats only French beans

Oct 8, 2012
I was surprised that this 7-year-old star tortoise has eaten solely French beans and nothing else for the past 7 years. Now, he had not pooped for the past 2 weeks. His shell is very soft, due to poor nutritional balances.

What to do with a constipated turtle?
"Give one ml of the enema into his anus," I said to Dr Vanessa. "Put him in the blue tub with water inside."
"Is the enema contra-indicated for tortoises?" Dr Daniel asked.
Dr Vanessa gave one ml and the tortoise popped out 2 cm x 1 cm brown stools in the water.
The owner was most happy but as he had to work late, he would bring the tortoise home tomorrow.
"What to do to improve his shell?" he asked.
"You need to give a variety of food," I said. "French beans for 7 years cannot be good for the shell."