Slight grittiness in uric acid waste

[melissalissatodd]

Hello! I've read up on some of the old threads on uric acid, causes, ideas, diet, hydration, etc. but still have questions.

I have noticed the passed two times my tortoise has passed uric acid, it has been slightly gritty. I would say she passes this once a week. I have been researching some of the foods high in oxalates, which does coincide with the food I've given her the past two weeks. She is fairly small, so a bunch of kale and dandelion greens lasts a week or two (interspersed with Zoomed grassland tort food, orchard hay cut up real small, dried flowers, and dried mulberry leaves, etc).

She is soaked every morning for 30 minutes, lives in a closed chamber, has temps ranging from 80 - 100 degrees F throughout her enclosure, with orchid bark for substrate, humidity between 85 - 98%.

Is this normal? to have small gritty deposits in her waste?

Thank you.

 

[Tom]

Hello! I've read up on some of the old threads on uric acid, causes, ideas, diet, hydration, etc. but still have questions.

I have noticed the passed two times my tortoise has passed uric acid, it has been slightly gritty. I would say she passes this once a week. I have been researching some of the foods high in oxalates, which does coincide with the food I've given her the past two weeks. She is fairly small, so a bunch of kale and dandelion greens lasts a week or two (interspersed with Zoomed grassland tort food, orchard hay cut up real small, dried flowers, and dried mulberry leaves, etc).

She is soaked every morning for 30 minutes, lives in a closed chamber, has temps ranging from 80 - 100 degrees F throughout her enclosure, with orchid bark for substrate, humidity between 85 - 98%.

Is this normal? to have small gritty deposits in her waste?

Thank you.

What size and species tortoise? How long have you had it?

Urates are a by-product of protein digestion. They form when the tortoise isn't hydrated enough. They do not come from calcium or from oxalates.

 

[melissalissatodd]

The tortoise is a sulcata, ~ 7 months old, around 4-5 inches long. I have had the tortoise since August.

I soak her every single morning. Good to know that it isn't from the diet, I've been trying really hard to feed it well.

Any tips, or suggestions?

 

[Tom]

The tortoise is a sulcata, ~ 7 months old, around 4-5 inches long. I have had the tortoise since August.

I soak her every single morning. Good to know that it isn't from the diet, I've been trying really hard to feed it well.

Any tips, or suggestions?

All sorts of diet tips and other stuff in here. Lots of good ideas for how to feed them well in winter when there are no weeds or leaves.

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[melissalissatodd]

All sorts of diet tips and other stuff in here. Lots of good ideas for how to feed them well in winter when there are no weeds or leaves.

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

tortoiseforum.org

Thank you! I have the care sheet printed and highlighted. I’ve already implemented a lot of the suggestions. My entire enclosure was re-made. I ordered some dried herbs from Kapidolo farms. She currently has two water saucers. I sprayed her already moist food today with a little extra water.

Is the grittiness ok? Should I soak her twice a day? It is definitely something I’m going to watch.

 

[Tom]

Thank you! I have the care sheet printed and highlighted. I’ve already implemented a lot of the suggestions. My entire enclosure was re-made. I ordered some dried herbs from Kapidolo farms. She currently has two water saucers. I sprayed her already moist food today with a little extra water.

Is the grittiness ok? Should I soak her twice a day? It is definitely something I’m going to watch.

The grittiness is unexpected, but I can't see any explanation for it with your routine and housing. A daily 30 minute soak should be doing it for a tortoise housed in a humid closed chamber. Your diet doesn't sound excessively high in protein, so I see no reason for it.

Doesn't sound like you ned to change anything. Just something to keep an eye on. If growth is steady and continuous, and the appetite good, I'd just carry on.

 

[melissalissatodd]

The grittiness is unexpected, but I can't see any explanation for it with your routine and housing. A daily 30 minute soak should be doing it for a tortoise housed in a humid closed chamber. Your diet doesn't sound excessively high in protein, so I see no reason for it.

Doesn't sound like you ned to change anything. Just something to keep an eye on. If growth is steady and continuous, and the appetite good, I'd just carry on.

Great, thank you! I’m working on growing more of my own tortoise food, which has already been a fun adventure.

Thank you for all your resources on this post & many others. Definitely saved my tortoise’s life. Im glad I found that care sheet when I did (4 months into her life). I’m going to mail a copy to the pet shop where I got her. She was hatched and put on dry pellets. I’m worried for the other babies he sold.

Hoping to make up for the beginning of her life.