Compacted Horsefield

[Sonny20222]

Hi, I am a first time tortoise owner. My tortoise is less than a year old and seems to be compacted or something stuck. See image attached. Do I need to take him to the vet?

 

[zolasmum]

He seems to have some wire wrapped round him,and very likely other stuff as well. I suggest you put him to soak in warm water up to the level of the join of the top and bottom shell, leave him to settle for a few minutes, then try to wash some of whatever there is off, by tipplng water over him - I wouldn't touch it by hand yet. Then soak him again as before - let him soak for a few minutes, then rinse off again, and see what is there.
Try to remove anything obvious , very gently -the wire needs to come off especially - if it is difficult, you could snip bits of it apart, using very small scissors.
Maybe you can see better what is going on then , and post again with another photo.
Good luck from Angie

 

[wellington]

For now get him soaking in a large container he can move around in and fill it just over where his two shells meet with warm water and try to keep him moving and keep him and water warm.
If you can feel it to see if it's hard or soft? If soft you might have a chance of him passing it, if hard probably not by himself.
You also will need to figure out why this happened. Something or things is wrong with his care.

 

[zolasmum]

For now get him soaking in a large container he can move around in and fill it just over where his two shells meet with warm water and try to keep him moving and keep him and water warm.
If you can feel it to see if it's hard or soft? If soft you might have a chance of him passing it, if hard probably not by himself.
You also will need to figure out why this happened. Something or things is wrong with his care.

I think the wire round him is preventing anything else getting out at the moment. When that's gone, if there is still a blockage,which won't loosen, a wet cottonwool bud or similar , poked in very gently and lightly might do it. I think a dab of olive oil might help, too.
Angie

 

[wellington]

I think the wire round him is preventing anything else getting out at the moment. When that's gone, if there is still a blockage,which won't loosen, a wet cottonwool bud or similar , poked in very gently and lightly might do it. I think a dab of olive oil might help, too.
Angie

I'm not so sure it's actual wire. I would hope the OP would have mentioned something about it being wire. Whatever it is, it doesn't look tight enough to me to be preventing him from passing anything.
The OP can also trying breaking it away with tweezers, small pieces at a time.
Cod liver oil can also be squirted in there with a syringe (no needle) to help lubricate.

 

[Yvonne G]

Looks more like hair.

Get some tweezers and start picking at that clump of stuff. You should be able to pick off pieces of it and discard them, making it small enough for him to pass it.

 

[Sonny20222]

Thank you, I have let him soak a couple of times in a shallow luke warm bath. I think what you think is wire was just a hair or thread which my husband has just removed, it wasn’t restricting just loose. I have tried to feel the blockage and it is rock hard, it almost feels like a stone. There are no stones or anything in his enclosure just soil. I think I will have to take him to a vet as it doesn’t seem he can pass it if it’s that hard

 

[Yvonne G]

Oops! I had the same idea as BArb, but was too slow to post.

 

[wellington]

It's not a stone he has swallowed but most likely a calcium build up which causes the "stone" people and animals can get, bladder stones, kidney stones. It can be due to lack of hydration and poor diet.
Keep soaking and try to pick away at it with tweezers even if you get a vet appointment keep trying and soaking.

 

[Sonny20222]

Yes I think it may be a urate stone. I have just tried to pick with a pin and some tweezers and it is so so hard

 

[SinLA]

definitely soak him as much as possible, make sure the water is a bit higher than the base of the shell

 

[Yvonne G]

Squirt mineral oil all around the cloaca between the stone and the cloaca. Hopefully the oil will help the stone to slip out.

 

[zolasmum]

How are you getting on with sorting the poor little chap out ?
Angie

 

[Sonny20222]

Hi, thanks for asking. We had him to a vet today who has managed to remove it. He had an x ray to make sure there is nothing else inside and he is back at home they said it could be a calcium build up with not enough hydration so will need to work on that.

 

[zolasmum]

Hi, thanks for asking. We had him to a vet today who has managed to remove it. He had an x ray to make sure there is nothing else inside and he is back at home they said it could be a calcium build up with not enough hydration so will need to work on that.

I'm so glad - I'm sure he and you feel a lot better now. If it was due to a calcium build-up, I wonder if you have been giving him too much calcium - people sometimes overdo the calcium powder, thinking that more must be better, when in fact, a tiny pinch once or twice a week is enough.
Has the swelling gone down ?
I hope all goes well with him, but if there are further problems, this forum is the best place of anywhere for advice and information.
It would be lovely to see a photo or two of him - is he Sonny?
Best wishes from Angie (in Devon)

 

[Markw84]

Hi, thanks for asking. We had him to a vet today who has managed to remove it. He had an x ray to make sure there is nothing else inside and he is back at home they said it could be a calcium build up with not enough hydration so will need to work on that.

It is not calcium that causes these uroliths in tortoises. Out of 100's actually chemically analyzed, not one showed any calcium content. In tortoises it is always a purine based urolith (stone) - from protein metabolism. So too much protein in diet. And/or too cool temperatures while actively metabolising some proteins. AND/or Not hydrated well. All of these things can lead to too high a concentration of urates and it can very well then precipitate out of solution and start forming a urolith.

 

[Sonny20222]

I'm so glad - I'm sure he and you feel a lot better now. If it was due to a calcium build-up, I wonder if you have been giving him too much calcium - people sometimes overdo the calcium powder, thinking that more must be better, when in fact, a tiny pinch once or twice a week is enough.
Has the swelling gone down ?
I hope all goes well with him, but if there are further problems, this forum is the best place of anywhere for advice and information.
It would be lovely to see a photo or two of him - is he Sonny?
Best wishes from Angie (in Devon)

Yes I think perhaps I was giving too much. The swelling has gone right down and he seems back to his happy self. It is Sonny yes

 

[TammyJ]

What is the tortoise's diet? What do you regularly feed him?

 

[Cathie G]

It is not calcium that causes these uroliths in tortoises. Out of 100's actually chemically analyzed, not one showed any calcium content. In tortoises it is always a purine based urolith (stone) - from protein metabolism. So too much protein in diet. And/or too cool temperatures while actively metabolising some proteins. AND/or Not hydrated well. All of these things can lead to too high a concentration of urates and it can very well then precipitate out of solution and start forming a urolith.

That's really interesting because of something that happened in my life. I had liver damage once from a prescription medication. To help myself I looked up a diet to support my liver while I healed. I found out that certain vegetables are high in protein such as broccoli and I should eat way less than I normally would. I'm not sure how that would relate to tortoises but it seems like it would.

 

[Sonny20222]

Hi guys, Sonny doesn’t seem to be doing very well. The vet gave us some repto boost for his baths but he isn’t eating and drinking and seems to always have his eyes shut and head low unless we move him.

Do you think he could just be drained from what happened at the vets? Anything I can do?