anything else i should do for bladder stones?

[marcy4hope]

i took my sulcata (one year old) to the vet last night and had an x-ray. he has 4 bladder stones.

i am soaking him an hour every evening, 1/2 hour every morning. i use either plain water or pumpkin added to it.

he was off feed for 2 weeks. he's finally started eating just a little bit each day on his own of spring mix and/or mazuri.

vet wants me to hold out and come back in 2-3 months for another xray and see if he'll pass them on his own.

i have just added fluker's liquid vitamin today, although i'm doubtful he'll eat his food with the smell of that vitamin in there, but we'll see. i also have some critical care coming today to try to get in him on those days he's just not wanting to eat. i won't force feed him, but will just offer it and see how he does.

what else should i be doing? suggestions welcome.

 

[Katherine]

What is your tortoises diet like normally? Often, though not always, stones can be formed in response to an imperfect diet and hydration routine. It would not hurt to do an assessment of your husbandry techniques just to ensure that if the stones were formed in response to something you have control over (diet, mineral intake, hydration) you can modify your routine going forward. I am curious if your vet suggested the vitamin water? If I had a tortoise with bladder stones but in otherwise good health I personally would probably avoid feeding excess calcium, added mineral supplements and processed foods until they had passed the stones.

Also, I would reccomend checking daily for urates and excrement and paying close attention to your tortoises bathroom habits while you deal with this, if a tortoise is unable to pass the stone and it moves into the urethra and gets lodged it could potentially cause a prolapse or prohibit you tortoise from being able to relieve itself... not trying to be an alarmist, just something to be aware of so you can keep an eye out and be as proactive as possible if that happens. Other than that I think you are off to a good start with all of the soaking, the irrigation and the opportunity to drink should serve him well. Good luck and I hope he is able to pass the stones!

 

[Baoh]

Depends on the composition of the stone. Either way, keep the hydration up.

 

[marcy4hope]

i have high humidity, warm temps in an enclosed chamber. i'm feeding spring mix, mazuri, cactus, cuttlebone, dandelion, occasional collard greens.

the vet did recommend the vit. a injection, but also said he just wasn't sure if it would make a big difference with the stones he already had. he thought it might prevent new ones from forming. i told him i'd rather have the liquid than an injection though, so he said that was fine.

i soak 1 1/2 hours each day total, so i do check for urates, and fecal matter.

thanks a lot.