Bladder stones and how to prevent

[furlotre2001]

Hi everyone
Two months ago I adopted a tortoise and all has been great except for today, I went to feed him and found a 1 inch bladder stone in his enclosure that he passed, his bottom was a bit swollen from it but no blood and the swelling went down some after soaking him twice today.

I soak him every few days and keep water in his enclosure at all times, he is feed grass and weeds daily with some veggies 2 times a week only. He has a cuttle bone in his enclosure that he loves and I sprinkle TNT on his food every few days.

The weather is getting cold so he's in now more then out. He is housed in a 6 ft by 3 ft enclosure with a tarp over to keep in heat and moisture, I spray his enclosure down daily to keep humidity up and have he got side at 90-100 and cool side at 75/80.

Today I soaked him twice and he drank some water both times as well passed urine and pooped once. I seen urniate in the water both times he peed. Giving him only grass, orchard hay and some weeds now.

I was wondering what else I should do to prevent this from happening again??

Attached pictures of the stone and his bum... he is 3 pounds and 8 inches long

 

[furlotre2001]

Sorry about spelling I don't no how to fix it now that I posted it and my auto correct is a bit crazy

 

[Big Charlie]

Poor thing! It's a good thing he passed it before it got too big. Sometimes these grow so big the only solution is surgery and the prognosis isn't good. I believe the best thing is to keep him hydrated, feed the right things, and keep the humidity up. Soaking regularly is important. You might want to increase that to every day. What vegetables does he get? You'll want to avoid anything that contains high levels of oxalate. I wet Charlie's food so even if he isn't drinking, he is still getting plenty of water.

Hopefully the stone was caused by the care he received before you got him, and now that you are doing all the right things, there won't be a recurrence.

 

[furlotre2001]

Hi and ty so much for your reply

I feed him grass and weeds from my back yard days he can't go out and get it his self but was giving him occasional green veggies from the tortoise table as well mazuri three times a week that was soaked before hand. I plan on soaking him every day for a few weeks to make sure he's hydrated.

 

[Yvonne G]

Besides dehydration (the tortoise holds his urine too long and the urates turn solid) diet has a bit to do with bladder stones forming. Foods from the brassica family and foods high in oxalic acid should be fed sparingly to those species that are prone to the stones (desert tortoises, sulcatas).

I think your tortoise's problem happened before you got the tortoise. It should be ok now with the frequent soaking and water accessibility.

 

[TerrapinStation]

Woah. That is scary. Glad it passed before it became a serious issue.

Poor guy must have been in some pain for that. I would definitely try to keep the bum area clean until the swelling goes down, just to avoid any possibility of infection or cuts etc....

 

[furlotre2001]

Ty all so much I was so worried yesterday, it looks much better today.


Is dandelion leafs ok to feed him with his grass still as he loves them?

 

[HI Tortoise Rescue]

You're not doing anything wrong with the diet you're giving him, & dandelion is fine. Foods with a high water content can help, too.

Ken