Tortoise bladder stone cost

Joy2000

New Member
Joined
Jan 26, 2017
Messages
5
Anyone know how much a tortoise bladder stone removal is? I may have to get that done on my tort and worried about the cost breaking the bank, thanks!
 

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,405
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
It's pretty expensive because it's major surgery. Call your vet and ask for an approximation.
 

Thury

New Member
Joined
Sep 27, 2017
Messages
6
Location (City and/or State)
California
Anyone know how much a tortoise bladder stone removal is? I may have to get that done on my tort and worried about the cost breaking the bank, thanks!
Please, make sure that you have an excellent Vet team if you are looking into this. I am not sure how large your Tort is. I have a 70 ld Sulcata who needed a stone removed but it was just too large. I had the best team, latest technology but because of my boy's size and the size of the stone, it was impossible to remove. God bless the vet team, they tried for 5 hours to break it up into small pieces using a laproscoipc procedure. (Not exactly the technical term :/ ) It was very costly, but he is our baby and we wanted to give him a chance at having the best life ever. The procedure was not successful but he lived another two years! Today, we are preparing to say goodbye. He has stopped eating or trying to get to his favorite sunny spot in the yard and we fear that the stone is finally taking it's toll. We meet with our Vet team today. If we had caught the stone sooner he would have had a much better chance of having at least some of it removed. Especially if you have a young tort, I would recommend it as long as you have a team that knows what they are doing. The fact that my Shelldon is only going to live 1/10th of his life expectancy breaks my heart. Good luck to you and you tortoise. If you start a go fund me, my husband and I will contribute!
 

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,405
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
A big stone like that is very painful for the tortoise. In my opinion, the best option is surgery to remove it. Of course, a qualified vet is a must. My sister's tortoise's stone was about the size of a soft ball. I'll copy/paste the picture she posted of it sitting in her hand:

c21Tg_2xLX6EVm8PfRxMbBwbGgcoqw5Qo4P6gHI_TaKc1tmWLwMMi8-_scKIyKSfS7QTImVaw6HdpoVx7GDrv81Tx4aA-xPMUJPBcUVXVi3unRMGqaz0rInVgGkX55OHGhKedHHRnEvC1_jXKizuTKBbqoDwlgm43L2XHTZszvwUWoeEEGboUP4CuajKKVUjU7I0sUUsb4_JLROVglgcGgKf6JDeQebmOjapZsyR64atFj89L4lym6S_NvN0Lhys3gqpnFm8oUPOZKXqxLwLaD3h19Vl-qzBMjHX0YCJh7yAFoyZEr_aMydycUz70YQmGttsyMR9TsAAB77sakf7pHjaqEFcY35nG9iSk__gW5ry2ii-qmLIWk3RkTUAAD4_wl8X-VS3rPlin5we7VigOn8zp3KFgjFSPL7JTKtTkVgG5q8X8ym-nJxn2jBEODZaAmQSJwjqT8OuDvZAc4wniVCXEgyPnJZf-BXlOnd3A60Q9u2x8T_kFyI9A9LPBE-R2CPjnfwGItegN-bte-EipREd74y3bwJb77BDbHVyTz9udQPN_sG6hRG3pudn_iLecFaf=w810-h608-no
 

Jay Bagley

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2017
Messages
1,481
Location (City and/or State)
Michigan
Sulcatas and desert tortoises.
That thing was huge. I was wondering, my tortoise right now is still small enough where I can soak him. But when they become so large and you can't just put them in a tub of water anymore, what options do we have to help keep them hydrated. Is constructing a shallow body of water outside with a plastic liner or something the way to go?
 

vladimir

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
May 18, 2017
Messages
1,484
Location (City and/or State)
Pennsylvania
Last year I ran a lawn sprinkler outside over part of Vlad's yard so he could get some extra moisture while he was out grazing [emoji16] I plan to continue that once the weather here warms up and he can get out

Not saying it's as good as a soak but it's one way to get some extra hydration
 

Jay Bagley

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2017
Messages
1,481
Location (City and/or State)
Michigan
Last year I ran a lawn sprinkler outside over part of Vlad's yard so he could get some extra moisture while he was out grazing [emoji16] I plan to continue that once the weather here warms up and he can get out

Not saying it's as good as a soak but it's one way to get some extra hydration
Thats a great idea, does the temperature of the water coming out play any kind of role? The water in our tap when it when it comes out is always super cold.
 

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,405
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
That thing was huge. I was wondering, my tortoise right now is still small enough where I can soak him. But when they become so large and you can't just put them in a tub of water anymore, what options do we have to help keep them hydrated. Is constructing a shallow body of water outside with a plastic liner or something the way to go?
My sister has a dug out spot in the back yard she keeps filled with water. I have a lid from a garbage toter I use for my large tortoise. He drinks on his own every day (I see him).
 

vladimir

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
May 18, 2017
Messages
1,484
Location (City and/or State)
Pennsylvania
Thats a great idea, does the temperature of the water coming out play any kind of role? The water in our tap when it when it comes out is always super cold.
Same here - I typically only did this when the temperature was in the 80s or so. Vlad didn't seem to mind the cool water, but I didn't want to risk anything if it wasn't warm/hot out
 

Jay Bagley

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2017
Messages
1,481
Location (City and/or State)
Michigan
My sister has a dug out spot in the back yard she keeps filled with water. I have a lid from a garbage toter I use for my large tortoise. He drinks on his own every day (I see him).
Thats a good idea. I have kind of wondered what I would use for a water dish when he gets huge. The lid from the garbage toter sounds like it would work great. I'm a little ways away from where he will be too big to soak yet, but I figured I better start getting a game plan together since he is growing like a weed.
 

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,405
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
Just to give you a perspective on how big stones are, this is a Texas tortoise, about 9" SCL. The stone is too big to pass through the opening between top and bottom shell:

bladder stone 3-28-18.jpg

This rescue was given to me because he wouldn't eat and had lost a whole lot of weight. His arms had no meat on them at all, just skin draped over bone. Needless to say, it was way too late to save him.
 

Melis

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 9, 2017
Messages
509
Location (City and/or State)
Maryland
Please, make sure that you have an excellent Vet team if you are looking into this. I am not sure how large your Tort is. I have a 70 ld Sulcata who needed a stone removed but it was just too large. I had the best team, latest technology but because of my boy's size and the size of the stone, it was impossible to remove. God bless the vet team, they tried for 5 hours to break it up into small pieces using a laproscoipc procedure. (Not exactly the technical term :/ ) It was very costly, but he is our baby and we wanted to give him a chance at having the best life ever. The procedure was not successful but he lived another two years! Today, we are preparing to say goodbye. He has stopped eating or trying to get to his favorite sunny spot in the yard and we fear that the stone is finally taking it's toll. We meet with our Vet team today. If we had caught the stone sooner he would have had a much better chance of having at least some of it removed. Especially if you have a young tort, I would recommend it as long as you have a team that knows what they are doing. The fact that my Shelldon is only going to live 1/10th of his life expectancy breaks my heart. Good luck to you and you tortoise. If you start a go fund me, my husband and I will contribute!
I’m so sorry to hear this. This is what happened to my 10 year old sulcata. We didn’t get to the surgery stage. We had to get her a little stronger for the surgery and she didn’t make it. Again, so sorry to hear this but what a great effort you made for him
 

Jay Bagley

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2017
Messages
1,481
Location (City and/or State)
Michigan
Same here - I typically only did this when the temperature was in the 80s or so. Vlad didn't seem to mind the cool water, but I didn't want to risk anything if it wasn't warm/hot out
I imagine the size of the tortoise pry plays a role in it too. Seems like I have read in other post, the larger the tortoise, the longer they can retain their core body temp.
 

Jay Bagley

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2017
Messages
1,481
Location (City and/or State)
Michigan
Just to give you a perspective on how big stones are, this is a Texas tortoise, about 9" SCL. The stone is too big to pass through the opening between top and bottom shell:

View attachment 234503

This rescue was given to me because he wouldn't eat and had lost a whole lot of weight. His arms had no meat on them at all, just skin draped over bone. Needless to say, it was way too late to save him.
Holy cow, that poor thing. I can't even imagine what it would feel like to try to pass something like that. Is it more dehydration, or diet that plays a role in this?
 
Top