# Pink urates



## Tort1419 (Nov 17, 2015)

Hello I have a Russian tortoise. He is very happy and healthy, he has an indoor enclosure about 31.15 square feet, hey has a varied diet and I have had him for three months. I got him in the fall so there was no use building an putdoor enclosure, but I will build one in the spring once the winter passes. He poops and pees regularly and he has slowed down for the winter. He is generally up only 5 hours a day now. But I know that is normal because it is winter. Anyways back to his pee and urate. Generally his urates are white and have a tooth paste consistency. But in the past four days he urates twice and both were pink. I heard this could be from high oxalites in the diet but this can't be right. Since it he is indoor his main staple is endive and escarole, as there is a bunch of other things we feed him as well? Could he have parasites should I seek out a vet, if so why do you think my tortoise got sick I have been caring for him correctly??


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## dmmj (Nov 17, 2015)

a pink color is usually a result of dandelions does he eat them? How much?


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## Tort1419 (Nov 17, 2015)

He doesn't eat any dandelions, but I did start feeding him dandelion greens yesterday, but he had red urates a few days before that, and yesterday was the first time he ever had dandelion greens @dmmj


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## Tidgy's Dad (Dec 7, 2015)

Raddichio and hibiscus are other causes of this and looking around the net, it seems that Russians are particularly susceptible to eat, though dandelion is usually the culprit. 99% of the time, it is nothing to worry about as it is diet related.
Is he okay, now ?


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## martaemha (Dec 7, 2015)

It doesn't seem he is sick. Do the pink urates have consistency of a tooth paste/ liquid? Pink gritty urates are something to worry about as this means that hard pieces are doing damage to the urinary tract. But this seems very unlikely in the case of your tort. I think it's just the pigment in one of the plants you've been feeding him. You wrote you've had him for three months. Do you know what was his diet before you got him?


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