dry tortoise shell?

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

It doesn’t help that a lot of them are really slowing down this time of year, even despite some peoples efforts at keeping them active with warm temps and lighting

 

[Yingg]

How’s her appetite overall? Still off or?

she eats still! not as much as before, though i think that's mostly winter temps setting in. when i offer her salad mix, she will chomp down

she doesn't finish the whole thing, but it's a decent amount. plus she's a bit fat

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

she eats still! not as much as before, though i think that's mostly winter temps setting in. when i offer her salad mix, she will chomp down

she doesn't finish the whole thing, but it's a decent amount. plus she's a bit fat

That’s really good to hear! Hopefully keeping up with the soaks will help her if she needs to pass anything else

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

also, i tried feeding her cucumber. she absolutely hates it!

Zucchini, pumpkin and aloe vera are alternatives for cucumber.

 

[Yingg]

Zucchini, pumpkin and aloe vera are alternatives for cucumber.

oh I have canned pumpkin, but I worry it's too sweet. Can a russian have zucchini? (I asked a friend for aloe vera. I hope he has a plant for me!)

Do you reckon a few bites of cabbage is okay i'm a bit worried now

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

I use LS!

The thing is, when I had fixed my tortoises hydration, he was still having some gritty urates from time to time. Tom said that it must be the pellets I was feeding:

Room humidifier? Adult Russian hydration

My adult Russian Edward is still occasionally passing gritty urates, about once a week. I am at a loss what I could be doing. Edward had a bladder stone issue this summer: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/gritty-urates-or-cuttle-bone-being-passed-or-what.215927/ TLDR: I got Edward from a...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

oh I have canned pumpkin, but I worry it's too sweet. Can a russian have zucchini? (I asked a friend for aloe vera. I hope he has a plant for me!)

Do you reckon a few bites of cabbage is okay i'm a bit worried now

Yeah, a few bites of cabbage is okay. Problems arise when it is fed on multiple days in a row/fairly often. Zucchini is okay in small doses. One slice a day shouldn't do harm for a short period of time. It can cause runny stools in excess, like all dilurantic foods.

 

[Yingg]

Yeah, a few bites of cabbage is okay. Problems arise when it is fed on multiple days in a row/fairly often. Zucchini is okay in small doses. One slice a day shouldn't do harm for a short period of time. It can cause runny stools in excess, like all dilurantic foods.

okay from what i'm understanding, mazuri may have too much protein?

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

okay from what i'm understanding, mazuri may have too much protein?

How often have you fed Mazuri? @Tom do you think Mazuri could have a part in bladder stone in this case?

 

[Yingg]

How often have you fed Mazuri? @Tom do you think Mazuri could have a part in bladder stone in this case?

every other day, but she doesn't eat more than a few bites.

today she completely ignored her food... i'll try pumpkin. hopefully in small doses, it is okay

 

[Yingg]

i'm going to lace it with pumpkin

 

[Yingg]

it worked

 

[Yingg]

i think I should note that the urate from 2 days ago wasn't ROCK solid, but it felt like a rock. I was able to break it apart with a little force from my hands.

Yesterday her urates were soft like toothpaste.

Today, some were soft like toothpaste, and there was a little that was crumbly and very gritty.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

i think I should note that the urate from 2 days ago wasn't ROCK solid, but it felt like a rock. I was able to break it apart with a little force from my hands.

Yesterday her urates were soft like toothpaste.

Today, some were soft like toothpaste, and there was a little that was crumbly and very gritty.

My tortoises bladder stones were the same.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

every other day, but she doesn't eat more than a few bites.

today she completely ignored her food... i'll try pumpkin. hopefully in small doses, it is okay

Maybe back that down to once a week and see if she is still having gritty urates afterwards?

 

[Yingg]

When will I know if she has no hard urates left? I am trying the cucumber with pumpkin, since that's the only way she eats it.... haha

I don't want her to get very sick or be in pain.

 

[Yingg]

Maybe back that down to once a week and see if she is still having gritty urates afterwards?

oh, did you mean less pumpkin? I have only done it for a day, should i Just stop? She won't eat cucumber or aloe without it right now

 

[Yingg]

The thing is, when I had fixed my tortoises hydration, he was still having some gritty urates from time to time. Tom said that it must be the pellets I was feeding:

Room humidifier? Adult Russian hydration

My adult Russian Edward is still occasionally passing gritty urates, about once a week. I am at a loss what I could be doing. Edward had a bladder stone issue this summer: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/gritty-urates-or-cuttle-bone-being-passed-or-what.215927/ TLDR: I got Edward from a...

tortoiseforum.org

Did you end up using a humidifier? I also have an open top enclosure, and the humidity reads 40-50%. Every day, I pour water into her enclosure so if she were to dig, it would be nice and damp. Should I get a humidifier?

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

oh, did you mean less pumpkin? I have only done it for a day, should i Just stop? She won't eat cucumber or aloe without it right now

I meant less Mazuri. When I had the same issue, Tom recommended me to to stop feeding the pellets all together. Through this process of elimination I was able to figure out that the pellets were the cause of his gritty urates.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Did you end up using a humidifier? I also have an open top enclosure, and the humidity reads 40-50%. Every day, I pour water into her enclosure so if she were to dig, it would be nice and damp. Should I get a humidifier?

I didn't, since it seemed like the pellets were the reason my tortoise was still having gritty urates. I switched to only feeding pellets lower in protein.