My tortoise apparently ate a plastic plate!

[CharSparda]

(The part that’s bitten)

It’s not a lot, but my tortoise is also not very big (about 18 cms diameter). He was having his regular cactus on top of that plate but I guess he started to eat the cactus and the plate at some point. Should I be worried? It happened a couple hours ago and he’s still eating cactus and went to sleep already.

The vet told me to get some x-rays just to see if in fact he ate it, but I don’t want to take him to the operating room unless it’s TRULY needed.

 

[wellington]

I wouldn't take him to the vet just yet. It's a small enough piece it should pass.
Soak him daily in warm water in a container big enough he can scramble around and keep insides moving good.
@Yvonne G can advise further if needed.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

He should be able to pass that but I’d feed on slate in the future, keep soaking him!

In the meantime, would you mind trying to answer some of these questions? I only ask because I’m noticing a red heat bulb which isn’t appropriate for them, it messes their eyesight up and can make everything look like food! I’m also seeing husk with scattered bits of food, if he eats husk he could become blocked up, you want coir/and/or orchid fir bark. We can help with other adjustments/tweaks where needed!

How are your temperatures? Ie basking temp(directly under the bulb)overall day temps, night temps?
What kind of lighting/heating are you using specifically? Packaging photos are good if you have any
Do you use indoor uv? If so what kind?
How’s your humidity? What do you use for substrate?

A photo of the full set up would be great if willing to share

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

You could give this thread a read where I explain a bit more about the bulbs and other things to be aware of to avoid!

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

tortoiseforum.org