Urate stone, urgent

[LeoTheTortoise]

Leo has a huge urate stone visibly blocking his coacula, and I've been soaking him for hours daily to try and help him pass it. After two days, it hasn't seemed to move. Is there any way to dissolve it safely, like an ointment I can rub on it or something? Also, he is visibly in pain. My mother had kidney stones so I know how much it hurts, are there any tortoise safe over the counter pain killers? I hate to see him suffer so much and so long.

 

[TechnoCheese]

Leo has a huge urate stone visibly blocking his coacula, and I've been soaking him for hours daily to try and help him pass it. After two days, it hasn't seemed to move. Is there any way to dissolve it safely, like an ointment I can rub on it or something? Also, he is visibly in pain. My mother had kidney stones so I know how much it hurts, are there any tortoise safe over the counter pain killers? I hate to see him suffer so much and so long.

Have you tried taking something thin and dislodging it from the cloaka?

 

[wellington]

When soaking make it be in a large container that he can move around it. You can try to take a syringe without a needle and squirt mineral oil on it up it. Feed cucumber, water melon, lettuce, these are filled with mostly water and might help it too pass. If it doesn't pass very soon, you will need to seek out a vet.

 

[wellington]

Also, while watching a video someone posted about a prolapse and how to care for it, the guy was taking the tail and gently bending it back to better expose the prolapse so he could better show what he was doing. This may help you to dislodge the stone.

 

[LeoTheTortoise]

I had been doing that (gently bending back the tail), but it seemed that despite this, the stone was still to large. I lubricated with coconut oil and tried gently with toothpick and then tweezers to dislodge it (figured there wasn't a whole lot more damage I could do that the stone being there in the first place couldn't do). I did not dislodge it but I did break off a large piece of it, so I am waiting to see if this will help.

 

[ScStange891]

My little one had a stone a couple months back and squirming around in his tub helped move it. Hopefully with the piece you broke off this can happen as well the next time he's put into a warm soak.

 

[Kenno]

I had been doing that (gently bending back the tail), but it seemed that despite this, the stone was still to large. I lubricated with coconut oil and tried gently with toothpick and then tweezers to dislodge it (figured there wasn't a whole lot more damage I could do that the stone being there in the first place couldn't do). I did not dislodge it but I did break off a large piece of it, so I am waiting to see if this will help.

I used to work in emergency rooms. Sometimes we had to cause more pain to get a resolution. It sounds like you're doing the right things, but a vet would be more aggressive and would have topical anesthetics to help. I wish I was there with a bunch of tweezers, clamps, and drills!

 

[Markw84]

I had been doing that (gently bending back the tail), but it seemed that despite this, the stone was still to large. I lubricated with coconut oil and tried gently with toothpick and then tweezers to dislodge it (figured there wasn't a whole lot more damage I could do that the stone being there in the first place couldn't do). I did not dislodge it but I did break off a large piece of it, so I am waiting to see if this will help.

With a stone that large and stuck that stubbornly, I would go to a good reptile vet. With one that far into the cloaca, and visible, it will not be able to pass any waste now and can get serious quickly. A good vet can anesthetize and then reach in and break up the stone without surgery since it is so close to the opening.

 

[LeoTheTortoise]

With a stone that large and stuck that stubbornly, I would go to a good reptile vet. With one that far into the cloaca, and visible, it will not be able to pass any waste now and can get serious quickly. A good vet can anesthetize and then reach in and break up the stone without surgery since it is so close to the opening.

Unfortunately, the vet is a long, bumpy hour or two drive away and doesn't work on weekends. When I broke the piece off the stone, diarrhea and concentrated urine poured out.

 

[TammyJ]

Wow. This is serious, and I hope you can maybe find another good vet close by. Meanwhile, keep up the warm soaking and maybe you can add a little mineral oil to the warm water. I would not feed anything until this is resolved. I wonder what causes these stones to form? I suppose it may be something in the diet? Or is this not really understood for certain?
All the best!