Young Greek with a bladder stone..

jYeung

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So about 2 weeks back I started noticing that he wasn't passing any poop. None in his soaks or enclosure. So i decided to take him in to the vets (first time for him). They took a xray and said everything looks fine.. prescribed some laxatives and de-worming meds to see if that will help him pass his poop. So a week has passed with me giving him his recommended doses and still no poop. I called back and went to the vets again today. They took another xray and the vet explained to me how they misunderstood the bladder stone to be his head the first time.. and that is the cause of our problems..

Now he's a young tortoise, possibly not even a year old. The vet said its not normal for such a young tortoise to develop such a big stone so young and that he may have possibly had it before I obtained him. She also stated that this could be a undiagnosed underlying metabolic issue.. So even if they get the stone out, another one may possibly appear later on.. They also said he's too young to be operated on as it would be too difficult. So alternatively they may try something with a ultrasonic to break it up a bit and see if they can pull the pieces out from his bum. The stone is lodged just inside the bum and when she uses a probe she can definitely feel it. Its just too big for him to push out..


And yes I do bathe him regularly, and mist his enclosure atleast twice a day. Though he hasn't grown too much since i got him (8 months roughly). Could the stone be why?

Alpha is a great tortoise and has so much character, it's sad that this has come up.. All I hope for is him to be alright and to live a long and happy life like he should.

Any comments, insight, opinions, knowledge on this topic is welcome.

Thank you for reading!
 

ascott

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I would begin to soak this tortoise for long warm water soaks (30 minutes twice a day, at least)...I also would offer some mineral oil in a bite size yummy treat a couple of times per day--along with the warm water soaks....I also would offer him lots of wet type foods (squash, melons and the like)....I would also be hesitant on taking the word of a vet who can not exactly tell the difference between a tortoise head and a bladder stone (kinda not in the same place and all?????) stones can and do pass.....I would not give up on the tort...but would really ramp up the soaks and mineral oil and wet foods.....
 

ascott

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Also, when you are offering the warm water soaks....I would do so in a tub that has high sides---this way if the tort begins to try to escape, the motion of the tort will also aid in getting the bowels moving......
 

jYeung

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I would begin to soak this tortoise for long warm water soaks (30 minutes twice a day, at least)...I also would offer some mineral oil in a bite size yummy treat a couple of times per day--along with the warm water soaks....I also would offer him lots of wet type foods (squash, melons and the like)....I would also be hesitant on taking the word of a vet who can not exactly tell the difference between a tortoise head and a bladder stone (kinda not in the same place and all?????) stones can and do pass.....I would not give up on the tort...but would really ramp up the soaks and mineral oil and wet foods.....

Thanks for the reply, i have heard those methods do help with constipation but the problem here is that the stone is too large to even pass though and is just blocking everything else aswell. I'll definitely try that though, I'm not giving up on this little guy.
 

ascott

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Problem is that if there is no way to know what the material of the "stone" is....then there is no way to know if it is able to break apart while trying to pass (hence, making is passable piece by piece rather than one large object)...you see, the stone may indeed be an actual stone/rock...or the object may be a mass of urates that never were hydrated/wet enough to pass and began a back up....which can indeed be broken down into pieces and pass....I would really consider an opinion from an entirely different vet....someone who can tell the difference between a head and a stone in the bowels of a tort.....
 

ascott

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Thanks for the reply, i have heard those methods do help with constipation but the problem here is that the stone is too large to even pass though and is just blocking everything else aswell. I'll definitely try that though, I'm not giving up on this little guy.

oooppps...forgot to hit the reply button when sending reply....apology.
 

Moozillion

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Oh, gosh- this doesn't sound good.:( In humans, a kidney stone that is too big to pass MUST be either broken up or surgically removed. I guess your little guy might be the same. I sure think Ascott is right- he should really see a vet who can get this taken care of, sooner rather than later. Poor little guy!:(
 

Yvonne G

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I've heard of the vet reaching inside with forceps and breaking up the stone. I think it's time for you to find a vet who knows more about tortoises. Those stones are not very hard. Once they're out,they fall apart very easily. It wouldn't take much for the vet to break it up so it could pass.
 

leopard777

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how about trying natural remedy herb ? one of the member here use it with good effect.

quite curious also, what you been feeding him with ?
 

jYeung

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Problem is that if there is no way to know what the material of the "stone" is....then there is no way to know if it is able to break apart while trying to pass (hence, making is passable piece by piece rather than one large object)...you see, the stone may indeed be an actual stone/rock...or the object may be a mass of urates that never were hydrated/wet enough to pass and began a back up....which can indeed be broken down into pieces and pass....I would really consider an opinion from an entirely different vet....someone who can tell the difference between a head and a stone in the bowels of a tort.....

I'll definitely take a look for another vet but according to the local forums for reptiles there aren't many "good" reptiles vets around.. and everyone seemed to have recommended this place im going to.
 

jYeung

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Oh, gosh- this doesn't sound good.:( In humans, a kidney stone that is too big to pass MUST be either broken up or surgically removed. I guess your little guy might be the same. I sure think Ascott is right- he should really see a vet who can get this taken care of, sooner rather than later. Poor little guy!:(

Yeah I want it out of him asap.. poor guy barely eats and is probably so traumatised ..
 

jYeung

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I've heard of the vet reaching inside with forceps and breaking up the stone. I think it's time for you to find a vet who knows more about tortoises. Those stones are not very hard. Once they're out,they fall apart very easily. It wouldn't take much for the vet to break it up so it could pass.

That is what she tried yesterday with the probe but no luck.. I was pretty upset when they told me they had mistaken the stone for his head.. If they had figured that earlier than something couldve been done earlier..
 

jYeung

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how about trying natural remedy herb ? one of the member here use it with good effect.

quite curious also, what you been feeding him with ?

I haven't heard of any natural herbs that would help, would you happen to know which one exactly?

My staple food for him is fresh organic spring mix, maybe a couple days a week I'll throw in a few zoo med grassland tortoise pellets with the mix and i supplement his food 4-5 days out of the week. Occasionally i do give him a piece of fruit but he's never really interested in them.
 

ascott

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I haven't heard of any natural herbs that would help, would you happen to know which one exactly?

My staple food for him is fresh organic spring mix, maybe a couple days a week I'll throw in a few zoo med grassland tortoise pellets with the mix and i supplement his food 4-5 days out of the week. Occasionally i do give him a piece of fruit but he's never really interested in them.

Gosh, I keep forgetting to actually reply after hitting the reply button....ugggghhhh....How is he doing today?
 

lvstorts

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Don't lose hope. I took in a Sulcata with a golf ball sized bladder stone and all the vets told me she needed surgery or would die. She wasn't healthy enough for surgery so I soaked her 3x a day for a year! It took forever but the stone finally dissolved and she's on the road to recovery. It didn't come all at once. Her urates were like gravel for months after she finally started passing something.
 

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