White stone substance stuck in tortoise

[Drownafish]

I was checking in on my marginated tortoise when I noticed he had an issue, I've never dealt with this before and am looking for advice... After research I found that he/she (i don't know yet) being dehydrated is most likely the reason why this occurred. I did as another post said, and that was to soak it and try to break it up with a dental pick (didn't have one so I used a tooth pick). I got off a Lil bit but the substance seems to be hard.

 

[zovick]

I was checking in on my marginated tortoise when I noticed he had an issue, I've never dealt with this before and am looking for advice... After research I found that he/she (i don't know yet) being dehydrated is most likely the reason why this occurred. I did as another post said, and that was to soak it and try to break it up with a dental pick (didn't have one so I used a tooth pick). I got off a Lil bit but the substance seems to be hard.

That is a stone (hardened urates) which your tortoise is trying to pass. You could try breaking it up with the pointed end of a nail or a large sewing needle instead of a dental pick. Also you can keep soaking the tortoise in lukewarm water a couple of times daily for 20-30 minutes or even longer each time, hoping that the tortoise will be able to force it through on its own (which will be easier if you can chip away some of it to make the diameter less).

Another helpful thing can be to put mineral oil on a cotton swab and apply it generously all around the edge of the stone where it is in contact with the cloacal lining and skin.

If the tortoise doesn't pass that thing in 24-36 hours, you will probably need to take it to a vet. This situation can be life-threatening.

Good luck, and keep us apprised of your progress.

 

[Drownafish]

That is a stone (hardened urates) which your tortoise is trying to pass. You could try breaking it up with the pointed end of a nail or a large sewing needle instead of a dental pick. Also you can keep soaking the tortoise in lukewarm water a couple of times daily for 20-30 minutes or even longer each time, hoping that the tortoise will be able to force it through on its own (which will be easier if you can chip away some of it to make the diameter less).

Another helpful thing can be to put mineral oil on a cotton swab and apply it generously all around the edge of the stone where it is in contact with the cloacal lining and skin.

If the tortoise doesn't pass that thing in 24-36 hours, you will probably need to take it to a vet. This situation can be life-threatening.

Good luck, and keep us apprised of your progress.

Thank you for the advice, when i was picking at it my tortoise kept squirming as if in pain so i didnt know if i should've kept going so i stopped and will try again later tonight and tomorrow. The stone is pretty hard, so it's a bit difficult to chip away at it properly or break it up

 

[Drownafish]

That is a stone (hardened urates) which your tortoise is trying to pass. You could try breaking it up with the pointed end of a nail or a large sewing needle instead of a dental pick. Also you can keep soaking the tortoise in lukewarm water a couple of times daily for 20-30 minutes or even longer each time, hoping that the tortoise will be able to force it through on its own (which will be easier if you can chip away some of it to make the diameter less).

Another helpful thing can be to put mineral oil on a cotton swab and apply it generously all around the edge of the stone where it is in contact with the cloacal lining and skin.

If the tortoise doesn't pass that thing in 24-36 hours, you will probably need to take it to a vet. This situation can be life-threatening.

Good luck, and keep us apprised of your progress.

Im glad im able to get back to this post quick with my progression. Such a smart tortoise, helped me remove it by letting me know when to set it down and let him try himself. This is the aftermath, the sense of relief of the tortoise is already visible. The stone was a lil wider than a nickel.

 

[wellington]

Glad it passed. Now we need to find the reason. Soak daily for 30 minutes in warm water. Raise the humidity in its enclosure to 80% and feed it some romaine for a few days a week along with it's regular food.
Btw, what is its normal diet?
If it was urates, you want them to be smooth like tooth paste. Not gritty or stone like.

 

[Megatron's Mom]

I had a similar thing with my Sulcata baby. I added some mineral oil for a few days after getting the piece out. This was to help lube anything else that might be still in him. Mine was started dry but doing very well now at a 1y 1/2 old.

 

[Drownafish]

Glad it passed. Now we need to find the reason. Soak daily for 30 minutes in warm water. Raise the humidity in its enclosure to 80% and feed it some romaine for a few days a week along with it's regular food.
Btw, what is its normal diet?
If it was urates, you want them to be smooth like tooth paste. Not gritty or stone like.

Will be soaking daily for a while to get him rehydrated and make sure everything is running smoothly. The reason this occurred was because his water dish isn't shallow enough which is 100% my fault. His old one broke a lil bit ago so I used a different dish but it was to deep so i added rocks in it to raise the levels. I guess it was still too deep for him though so I will be going out to the store today to get one that'll fit him. Normally I feed him romaine lettuce, kale, and spinach along with calcium powder 1-2x a week.

 

[wellington]

That diet needs a lot of improving. Kale and spinach should be fed only very sparingly.
Romaine is good to help in hydration and can be fed, but sparingly and only a long with a good diet. The diet is very poor.
If you can't add natural foods, which you should be able to now that it's warmer weather, go for riddichio, escarole, arugula, dandelion, cactus.