Frost and Rocks

Two nights of frost make Frankie a very grumpy boy. It's almost like he knows the temperature dropped below 32º F during the night and there is no way he is going outside. I am going to have to design a hoist!

I have a pig blanket inside for Frankie to sit on the morning and I set up his overhead heater. He has somewhere to warm up every morning. Then I will show him its sunny outside (around 10:00 am) and he can go outside and bask. The answer from Frankie is NO WAY!

Yesterday, after warming up under his lamp and sitting on his pig blanket Frankie attempted a poop. This needs to be mentioned because Frankie is a poop master and never has problems in this area of his life. Yesterday there was a problem. Only a poop problem would get me within two feet of his rear end while he is attempting to poop! He managed one small poop and it was loaded with small rocks. No good.

I am thinking this is due to too many weeks without cuttle bone which we just got replenished last week. Three weeks without just was too much and Frankie started eating rocks. From what I understand from other keepers, sulcata do this for (mistakenly) calcium.

Because this causes constipation that can become serious, I got Frankie into a hot (but comfortable) bath. I put him in a plastic garden/shop container with the hot water just inside the garage door. I opened the car garage door fully so he could soak and bask in the sun. Since we were just inside the garage the temperature was a bit warmer. That Frankie soaked for a whole hour. He loved it.

I had enough time to soak the box turtles while Frankie soaked. They got a separate container and the water was warm and not hot. They enjoyed it.

So, I will do this all again. Check poop for rocks. See if everything is clear with Frankie.