Is this normal?

[Teddy28]

Noticed when he's in bath or sometimes when wandering he'll suddenly tuck his head in sharpish with a hiss. Doing it now actually and seems to precede urates or bowel movement? Doesn't happen with every bowel movement, sometimes he just trundles along on tall legs and a poo pops out and he carries on. Just bothered with the hiss that he's in pain?

[Nina]

It is perfectly normal (in most cases) and most often happens when they are startled. In order to fit their heads inside their shells properly tortoises need to expel the air from their lungs, and when they do it quickly the expelling of air makes that hissing sound. Not sure why he is doing it whilst pooing. My torts sometimes pull their heads into their shells when pooing, but they tend to do it slowly so you don't hear the hissing sound (same thing when straining to lay eggs). So not sure why this is only happening when pooing, unless you startled him, but the hissing is only the sound of the air being expelled quickly, not of pain. Keep an eye on him, just in case, but I don't think anything is wrong.

Nina

[Teddy28]

Thanks Nina, I was out of sight when I heard the hissing, or exhaling as you've described it. I tend to step away when he's in his bath in the hope he'll have a drink which he never does if I'm watching. Anyway when I picked him up out of the bath he'd done 4 rather large poos, far more than I thought a chap of his size could produce so i wonder if he was a bit constipated?

[Nina]

Four large poos is a lot, so that’s possible, but it’s also possible that he was saving them up to deposit in the bath to save you the trouble of spot cleaning his enclosure!

Nina

[Teddy28]

Such a gent!!