my star turtle is not pooping since a week

Question
QUESTION: hey ! My star turtle's  rectum popped out a week ago ,we took him to the vet ,he did the needfull and the rectum was back to its place and the next morning he passed out some blood ,but now he's  healed completely as said by the vet,after that day his eating habits have completely changed ,he eats very less ,my vet had injected him so that he eats well but yet he does'nt eat so well and the most important thing ,he's not pooping since that day ,he's eating little little things but nothing comes out,just yesterday he had a pee,nothing else ,i am quite worried about him now..he's very active ,he walks properly ,we keep him in lukewarm water twice a day,keep him in sunlight and yaa he's just 5-6months old like 2inch ..
What should we do now,show him to another vet ,or anything??

ANSWER: It takes a long time for food to move through a tortoise's gut, so if your tortoise wasn't eating before the surgery it may take a while for him to poop again.  The activity is a good sign, but tortoises don't heal that fast so it's unlikely that he's 100% healed already.  I would give it another week, and then if you're still concerned take him back to the vet.  Also go to the vet if he becomes lethargic or otherwise acts ill.  You should also check over how you're keeping him to make sure everything is correct, because rectal prolapses can be related to improper care.

Don't soak twice a day.  A few times a week is enough, but water should always be available in the enclosure.  If you're keeping the tortoise indoors, sunlight coming through a window doesn't provide UVB, so you need a special UVB bulb made for reptiles.  Make sure you're providing a good diet with plenty of variety--grass/hay, leafy greens, cactus, hibiscus, etc.  Don't feed just one thing.  Provide a cuttlebone for extra calcium.  Ideally a star tortoise should be spending quite a bit of time outside during the day, since it's native to India.  You can build a small enclosure and screen it from birds if necessary.

http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/cs-startortoise.htm
http://www.chelonia.org/articles/Geleganscare.htm
http://www.tortoisetrust.org/care/celegans.html



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you so much for giving your time ,i really appreciate that ....
And my turtle is doing good now,he's fit n fine ....
I just have few questions like,
1:can star turtle hear us or any sound??
2:can they recognize us or can they remember things???
3:do they have teeth??
4:how to identify their gender ???

Answer
Hi Pinak,

I'm glad to hear your tortoise is doing better now.  To answer your questions:

1)  Yes, they do hear, and quite well.

2)  Yes, they can recognize people (especially whoever brings food!) and they can remember things.  They are especially good at remembering things like how to escape from a pen.  If they do it once, they'll keep returning to the same spot and try over and over again.

3)  No, they don't have teeth.  Their beak (mouth) has a sharp edge to it that helps them to bite off pieces of food.  They don't chew the way we do; instead, they have a digestive system designed to move food through very slowly so maximum nutrition can be absorbed.

4)  Most species of ortoise can't be sexed until they're mature.  Immature tortoises all look female.  Sex is determined by temperature, so if eggs are incubated at a higher temperature most will turn out female; at a lower temperature, most will be male.  This isn't 100% certain, and of course you'd have to know the incubation temperature to know the likelihood of female or male.  But apparently star tortoises are easier to sex at a younger age.  Here's a link with information:  http://www.chelonia.org/sexing/sexing_Geochelone_elegans.htm.  Generally, males will have a longer tail, while a female's tail is short and stubby.  Females also grow larger than males.