grosso

[speedy]

Hi Greek Geeks,
My yearling Ibera had an unusually large tail. I turned "HIM" over and saw a large (large to him, he's only 2-5/8" long) White solid mass he was trying to pass (you know, poop) I placed him in water, to no avail. The next day he passed a good size chunk of calcified "something". What the heck was that?
Anyone have any suggestions. Yes I'm ready for smart#@*^% comments too.
Giddy no knows how to spell relief.

 

[webskipper]

Hi Greek Geeks,
My yearling Ibera had an unusually large tail. I turned "HIM" over and saw a large (large to him, he's only 2-5/8" long) White solid mass he was trying to pass (you know, poop) I placed him in water, to no avail. The next day he passed a good size chunk of calcified "something". What the heck was that?
Anyone have any suggestions. Yes I'm ready for smart#@*^% comments too.
Giddy no knows how to spell relief.

Yeah, you hit it on the head. The soaking did help reduce the swelling and pain and loosen any part of the mass.

How often and how long do you soak him?

 

[egyptiandan]

Your tortoise had a stone. Most stone are made of calcium oxalates. Calcium oxalates are formed when your tortoise eats food with oxalic acid in it. This oxalic acid combines with calcium and accumulates in the bladder causing a stone. Secondarly not enough water intake will prevent stones from being passed when small.
It's time to look into your diet and frequency of soaking to prevent more stones in the future.

Danny

 

[speedy]

Your tortoise had a stone. Most stone are made of calcium oxalates. Calcium oxalates are formed when your tortoise eats food with oxalic acid in it. This oxalic acid combines with calcium and accumulates in the bladder causing a stone. Secondarly not enough water intake will prevent stones from being passed when small.
It's time to look into your diet and frequency of soaking to prevent more stones in the future.

Danny

Food may not be the problem. Their staple is dandelion. Our yard is pesticide free. Store bought, in cooler months, may contain it. I have no way of knowing how they grow it. Second food is kale, again in cooler months , store bought. Third is cactus, needles removed. They have been going out for a month now and chomp on the clover, more then I expect. Even my adults have been like this and I never had this stone problem. Water is always available, But I couldn't tell how aften they actually drink. How far back could this stone develop? I've gone through list of greens that contain oxalic acid, and don't even come close to anything they eat. They always have cuttle bone.

 

[Yvonne G]

If your tortoise's diet consists of mostly dandelion greens, then diet most certainly CAN be the problem:

http://www.russiantortoise.org/nutritional_analysis_of_kale.htm

You always want to strive for a well-balanced diet through VARIETY.

 

[Kristina]

Also, store bought "dandelion" is actually most often chicory. Ever seen a dandelion that big?

You need a much more varied diet than just three ingredients. Would you get all the nutrition you needed if all you ate was bread, broth, and potatoes, for instance? You would survive for a while, but eventually your body would start to feel the effects.

Here is a very basic list to start from, and add other items from time to time. I usually get something different every week, and feed it until it is gone. Then the next week I get something else.

SPRING MIX ("base" ingredient)
BROADLEAF PLANTAIN (Plantago major)
CHICORY
COLLARD GREENS
DANDELION
DUCKWEED
ENDIVE
FIGS
GRAPE LEAVES
KALE
PRICKLYPEAR-FRUIT
PRICKLYPEAR-PADS
TURNIP GREENS

You can mix in and out things like cilantro, papaya, mango, finely chopped grasses sprinkled over the other foods, grated sweet potato, zucchini and summer squash (ALL tortoises LOVE these, at least in my experience) butternut squash (grated or pureed)... There are a LOT of options.