Bladder stones

[Sara Evans]

Has anyone been through bladder stones with their sulcata tortoise or any breed of tortoise. My guy is passing poop and active moving all legs no discharge from eyes or nose shows interested in eating but hasn't ate in few days then ate a bit now trying to eat more but doesn't seem to make contact with his food like he can see it or reach it but can. Just wondering if someone has gone through this where it was the cause of bladder stones.
Thank you for any input

 

[wellington]

How old his your tort? What's his living conditions, temps all over and basking area? Size of enclosure, types of bulbs/heat using, how often do you soak? Diet and is there water available 24/7?

 

[Sara Evans]

I don't know his age unfortunately he is almost 200lbs. I got him from someone last summer. He has a basking area with the uv light that is like sunlight he has a heated room. Large area to walk a good distance and turn around 12x12 he is indoors right now because it's cold outside. Lots of greens his mazuri pellets and grass/hay. Soak three times a week or more when I have help to lift him. He has a water dish but tips it over all the time

 

[Tim Carlisle]

Wow...thats a big boy!

 

[Tom]

I have a few questions to get us started in solving your issue:

What type of UV bulb? And what distance from the tortoise?
What is the temperature on the floor where the tortoise is?
At 200 pounds, this tortoise would be near 36-38 inches long. What sort of basking area have you made? How many bulbs and what type?
What makes you think this has to do with bladder stones?

 

[Yvonne G]

My experience with stones is that the tortoise stops eating, loses weight and eventually dies.

My sister took her 120lb sulcata to the vet because he was off his feed and wasn't acting normal. An xray showed a large stone. She opted for surgery, even though no vet in her area had ever done this type of surgery before. They sent her home with the tortoise before the tortoise had woke up from the anesthesia. When she got home she could see that the tortoise was bleeding under the fiberglass patch. He died.

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

My experience with stones is that the tortoise stops eating, loses weight and eventually dies.

My sister took her 120lb sulcata to the vet because he was off his feed and wasn't acting normal. An xray showed a large stone. She opted for surgery, even though no vet in her area had ever done this type of surgery before. They sent her home with the tortoise before the tortoise had woke up from the anesthesia. When she got home she could see that the tortoise was bleeding under the fiberglass patch. He died.

The message here is 'find a competent/experienced vet'. Vets sometimes have this "oh that would be an interesting thing to try". Don't go to them. There are good vets who know both what they do know, and what they don't know. Hard to sort out sometimes. References can help.

 

[Thury]

Has anyone been through bladder stones with their sulcata tortoise or any breed of tortoise. My guy is passing poop and active moving all legs no discharge from eyes or nose shows interested in eating but hasn't ate in few days then ate a bit now trying to eat more but doesn't seem to make contact with his food like he can see it or reach it but can. Just wondering if someone has gone through this where it was the cause of bladder stones.
Thank you for any input

Yes! My tortoise, Shelldon, was diagnosed with a bladder stone two years ago. He underwent a procedure to try to break up the stone so the vets could at least remove some of it. At the time, he was 8 yrs old and 70 lbs and otherwise in good health. It was a fluke that we even found out about it. Because of his size, they would not cut his shell. Which we would not have allowed if they'd even dared to suggest it. We are in CA and there is an excellent Exotic Animal hospital, so we are very fortunate. The procedure was unsuccessful much to the dismay of the excellent Vet team as well as my husband and I and, Sadly, today we are taking him back to the vet and are prepared to say our goodbyes. He has not eaten or even tried to move in nearly a week now...completely out of character for him as he is a very active beast! We are so grateful that we had another two years since his procedure to remove the stone. At the time, the vets told us that there was no way to know how long he would be able to live with the stone or how fast it might continue to grow and that eventually it would affect his major organs. Our gut is telling us that perhaps the stone has moved and is causing this rapid decline. We will know more this afternoon but, we have known and loved him for 10 years and know his patterns and personality. Our hearts are deeply sad. My advice to you is, if you think bladder stones are an issue, it is much better to know sooner rather than later. The smaller the tort and the smaller the stone, the better the chances of successfully treating it. I hope that you have an excellent Vet who is well versed in treating torts. It's worth it to find one so that you can have a long happy life with your Sulcata. Afterall, THEY deserve it! Good luck to you.