Tell me about your Russians poop? lol

[Russian Rehab]

My RT Harley is a recent rescue from a terribly neglectful home. I have never owned a tortoise before but i had to save him so im researching like crazy!

Harley has been having a hard time getting appropriately hydrated
can you please help me by telling me

1. how often your Russian Tort Poops?
2. what consistency is normal?
3. How ofttin do yours Pee?
4. do you get clear liquid and the white urates like i do?
5. What kind of ratio is normal for you?

Thanks for your input! i want to get an idea of what is a normal range for a healthy tort.
Nina

 

[DARKFIRE007]

Mine have a solid but moist movement. Don't be afraid of clear liquid in the urates, 9 times out of 10 that is just a sign of a well hydrated tort.

As for how often, you can set your watch by it. EVERY time they have a soak. It is random in the enclosure. Urates tend to be more rare than regular movements so don't expect them to do both in the same quantity.

For your research, this is the best place to start.

Beginner Mistakes
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

Russian Tortoise Care
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

 

[RosemaryDW]

Things can vary quite a bit, depending on the kind of environment the tortoise is in.

Mine is outside, walking, eating, and pooping all day long, every day. I don’t soak her all that often and she never drinks unless she’s just come out of hibernation; she has plenty of access to high water content foods. I’m in Southern California where we don’t get a lot of rain but close to the coast, so a little bit humid. Depending on what she’s eating and the humidity her poop is either cigar shaped or a bit rounded.

The combo of water and white urates are normal; the urates can be very thin or a little creamy. When they aren’t hydrated the urates can come out gritty; the consistency will get better with regular water intake. I don’t know that the ratio of water to urates is important; you just want to get away from gritty urates.