bladder stones?

laya :)

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hello, i’m new to ttf, but i’ve been lurking and looking through all old threads for a while now. i wasn’t at all well informed on how to take care of a tortoise, but all of the information on here has been extremely helpful and i’m hoping you guys could help me out with this as well :)

recently my sulcata, max, has had hard white chunks in his poop. at first i didn’t really think anything of it because he’s still active and eats like a horse, but i just want to make sure it’s nothing serious. i’ve read up a little on bladder stones and i don’t really think that’s what this is, but i could be wrong.

i was wondering if this could be chunks of cuttlebone that i’m finding? i put one in his cage about once a week and he almost always completely demolishes it in about an hour. i sprinkle calcium on his food 2 or 3 times a week, but he still goes after the cuttlebone like it’s candy.

here are some pics:

1ADEA9D1-2BB2-4D3C-850B-C14C89F3A6F4.jpeg
F376065C-70E5-4E7A-8D59-310D28BA6988.jpeg

also, max has recently been diagnosed with a respiratory infection. he goes to the vet around three times a week for a shot. he now has a new, bigger, enclosure that hold humidity much better and ceramic heat emitters^^
 

Tom

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hello, i’m new to ttf, but i’ve been lurking and looking through all old threads for a while now. i wasn’t at all well informed on how to take care of a tortoise, but all of the information on here has been extremely helpful and i’m hoping you guys could help me out with this as well :)

recently my sulcata, max, has had hard white chunks in his poop. at first i didn’t really think anything of it because he’s still active and eats like a horse, but i just want to make sure it’s nothing serious. i’ve read up a little on bladder stones and i don’t really think that’s what this is, but i could be wrong.

i was wondering if this could be chunks of cuttlebone that i’m finding? i put one in his cage about once a week and he almost always completely demolishes it in about an hour. i sprinkle calcium on his food 2 or 3 times a week, but he still goes after the cuttlebone like it’s candy.

here are some pics:

View attachment 327092
View attachment 327093

also, max has recently been diagnosed with a respiratory infection. he goes to the vet around three times a week for a shot. he now has a new, bigger, enclosure that hold humidity much better and ceramic heat emitters^^
I agree that you are seeing pieces of cuttlebone. Not a problem. Nothing needs to be changed.

Daily soaks for smaller tortoises, and soaking 2-3 times a week for older larger tortoises will prevent bladder stones from forming and also keep the torotise well hydrated.

RIs are caused by cold temps, especially night temps. The "cure" is warm temps. Once the antibiotics are done and the tortoise is better, you can prevent this in the future by keeping the night temp above 80 all the time and all over the enclosure.

What size is your tortoise? Once it is large enough to live outside, you can make it a heated night box like this: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/single-tortoise-night-box.181515/
 

laya :)

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Joined
Aug 21, 2020
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Location (City and/or State)
46815
I agree that you are seeing pieces of cuttlebone. Not a problem. Nothing needs to be changed.

Daily soaks for smaller tortoises, and soaking 2-3 times a week for older larger tortoises will prevent bladder stones from forming and also keep the torotise well hydrated.

RIs are caused by cold temps, especially night temps. The "cure" is warm temps. Once the antibiotics are done and the tortoise is better, you can prevent this in the future by keeping the night temp above 80 all the time and all over the enclosure.

What size is your tortoise? Once it is large enough to live outside, you can make it a heated night box like this: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/single-tortoise-night-box.181515/
he’s 10 inches long and 6 wide and weighs about 5 pounds right now. i don’t know his exact age but he’s 5-6 years old i think. after reading through this forum i realized that he’s extremely small for a sulcata, which is due to his dry upbringing and poor diet. we’ve had him since he was a hatching and i feel so bad about his stunting :( lately i’ve been making lots of changes based on what i’ve read here and i’m hoping that he’ll be able to grow some more
 

wellington

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he’s 10 inches long and 6 wide and weighs about 5 pounds right now. i don’t know his exact age but he’s 5-6 years old i think. after reading through this forum i realized that he’s extremely small for a sulcata, which is due to his dry upbringing and poor diet. we’ve had him since he was a hatching and i feel so bad about his stunting :( lately i’ve been making lots of changes based on what i’ve read here and i’m hoping that he’ll be able to grow some more
When you get everything right you likely will see him grow and into a normal size sully.
I rescued a leopard a few years back. He was the same age ad the one I was raising but less then half the size and could only scoot, not walk. With proper space, diet and water therapy, he passed my own leopard in size and walks faster then any tort I have ever seen.
 

laya :)

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When you get everything right you likely will see him grow and into a normal size sully.
I rescued a leopard a few years back. He was the same age ad the one I was raising but less then half the size and could only scoot, not walk. With proper space, diet and water therapy, he passed my own leopard in size and walks faster then any tort I have ever seen.
thats amazing, thanks for sharing! stories like yours give me hope^^
 
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