Urinate?

[mary t]

Should a tortoise have urinate in the urine? I know they won't have it every time but when I first got Willie every time he went he had a lot of "white stuff" , now maybe once a week or less. I know he is urinating but it hardly had "white stuff". He is acting fine , eating great and doesn't seem in distress at all. Thanks again for any information on his matter... ( Willie is a 6 year old he/ she) lol!

 

[pryncesssc]

I think on the main page of the forum there is a whole thread about the "white stuff"
Hope that helps u !

 

[ascott]

The more hydrated your tortoise becomes the less urates you will notice when they urinate.....some tortoise species do not have urates.....sulcatas are not one of them

I care for CDTs and they will pass urates when the come out of brumation for approx two weeks and then they will eventually have urate free urine....they begin to clear their system out as they consume fresh water and have a steady supply of fresh water.....

 

[Livingstone]

The amount of white stuff is a discharge of excess minerals, salts, and calcium. Its normal to see this during urination, but it can happen on its own too (I've seen both). In my experience with livingstone, the more calcium I added to his diet the more frequently there would be an emission of urates. I used common sense and summarized that I should cut back and try to balance the calcium in his diet. The logic there being that there was more than the animals body could absorb, and that it would be possible to cause I stone to form if he got dehydrated. Hydration is very important, doubtless you know that already, but daily warm bathes are the best thing ever for a tortoise. So what I do is keep feeding him regularly but adding calcium on different days hap hazardly through the week. If I see urates in his daily bath I stop giving the calcium for a couple of days.


With that being said... Based on what you have said, I think the animal is in better care now and either one of two things is happening:
1)You have a good diet and the animal is absoring the calcium better.
2)You have a better setup and the proper UVB/UVA spectrum is stimulating the absorbtion of calcium.

Good job, and try to achieve a natural balance, if you see it then cut back on high calcium plants, or cut back on the plants that have oxalates (these are the guys that inhibit calcium intake). If you are using a calcium supplement then stop for a couple days and keep up the warm bathes.

Good Luck.

 

[ascott]

Uric acid is the end product of protein metabolism. It is cleared from the blood by the kidney into the bladder. Uric acid and urates are relatively insoluble and crystallize into small chunks that are passed with the urine. The amount of urate present in urine varies depending on diet and water intake. Urates are usually white to light yellow in color.

--quote taken from the CTTC

http://www.tortoisetrust.org/care/faq.html
you will find item 1 in regards to your question

http://www.tortoise-protection-group.org.uk/site/63.asp#q1
also item 1

I suppose my point is to make sure that you understand the importance of knowing what urates (uric acid) are and what constitutes problematic urate passing....be sure to keep your tortoise hydrated and a balanced, varied diet. Calcium is not the cause of uric acid and is sometimes mistakenly thought of as the cause....

 

[mary t]

Ascott, thank you or our websites. I had read the first before I posted my thread but had never seen the second. I do understand what it is and I am aware that from when I got Willie the urinate has changed from hard and gritty to the creamy stuff( sorry) he is defiantly more hydrated now trust me before I or him he was living in dessert conditions and I'm pretty sure had never seen water.. I'm just confused if I'm not seeing any over say a week or a really small small amount if that is ok... I'm not worried about his calcium and I know I have him on the best diet that I possibly can right now. I am just wondering if it's ok that he is not expelling any white stuff. Thanks

 

[Tom]

I almost never see any white stuff from my younger ones, because they are soaked every day. I see it very rarely from my juveniles, because they get soaked 3-4 times a week. I only occasionally see it in my adult pen because they have water always available and eat a fair amount of "wet" stuff.

In the past, when I used to keep them dryer, I saw a lot more urates. I think that you NOT seeing urates much any more is a good indicator that your tortoise is now well hydrated.

Good job mary t! Well done!

 

[mary t]

Tom, I really think I might be falling in love with you...lol.. I read everything on his thread since I found it and I'll be honest your answers are from experience (not that others are not) but well you for some reason make me feel good about what I'm doing... Thank you so so o much!!!!!

 

[ascott]

LOL....I am agreeing with Tom....the more hydrated the less urates you will see....and go ahead and fall in love with Tom .....he can handle it

 

[TortandHare]

Mary, I had to laugh because I remember about a year ago, way before I found this forum, I called the pet store where I bought Stewie worried because I saw him "pee" for the first time. Always before I had just noticed the urates and never any liquid. The girl at the store laughed at me. Glad I am not the only one who worries about things like that.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

Note: it's not "urinates." Rather, the urine of tortoises from arid or semi-arid climates, as well as that of many birds, contains uric acid, which is the same as urate. People commonly call the white material in reptile and bird excreta urates, and it is a normal component. Urates are a water-saving strategy that mammals like us do not use, because we excrete urea instead of uric acid, and urea must be more dilute than uric acid in order to be safely excreted. The more hydrated an arid-land reptile or bird is, the less urate it's going to excrete.