dry tortoise shell?

[Yingg]

i have been feeding her mazuri and lettuce, spring mix without spinach. Please help, this kind of scares me

 

[Yingg]

should i soak her daily? i will soak her inside, after I get home from school. just two weeks ago, i felt her urates and they were very smooth, not gritty at all!

 

[Yingg]

should i feed her aloe vera?

 

[Yingg]

@Littleredfootbigredheart do you know any tips on how to make her drink more water? is there a way i can force feed her i'm very worried. She was pushing hard for that stone to come out

 

[Yingg]

oh no, I have been feeding her some arugula which apparently can cause bladder/kidney stones. should i feed her cucumber to hydrate her?

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

should i soak her daily? i will soak her inside, after I get home from school. just two weeks ago, i felt her urates and they were very smooth, not gritty at all!

I would soak her daily to make sure that any other possible stones pass. If you see her struggling to pass another one you could try using mineral oil. Mineral oil can be wiped on her cloaca with a q-tip and fed rolled up in lettuce.

should i feed her aloe vera?

You can feed aloe vera, cucumber, pumpkin or zucchini for hydration.

@Littleredfootbigredheart do you know any tips on how to make her drink more water? is there a way i can force feed her i'm very worried. She was pushing hard for that stone to come out

On top of the daily soaks, you could spray her food with water to provide more hydration.

 

[Yingg]

I would soak her daily to make sure that any other possible stones pass. If you see her struggling to pass another one you could try using mineral oil. Mineral oil can be wiped on her cloaca with a q-tip and fed rolled up in lettuce.

You can feed aloe vera, cucumber, pumpkin or zucchini for hydration.

On top of the daily soaks, you could spray her food with water to provide more hydration.

should i put it IN her cloaca (gently) or just around the entrance? i already spray her food lots. I will try adding cucumber to her daily food, maybe it will help with hydration. is that okay?

i also have not noticed a SINGLE poop in her enclosure ever since i built it... is this normal? I see her white urates every now and then (every few days) but NEVER poop!

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

should i put it IN her cloaca (gently) or just around the entrance? i already spray her food lots. I will try adding cucumber to her daily food, maybe it will help with hydration. is that okay?

I put it just around the entrance. It will lubricate the cloaca making it easier and less painful to pass any future stones. You can feed cucumber daily until the symptoms go away (like constipation, struggling to pee etc.)

i also have not noticed a SINGLE poop in her enclosure ever since i built it... is this normal? I see her white urates every now and then (every few days) but NEVER poop!

Feeding mineral oil rolled up in a lettuce will lubricate his insides and help with constipation too.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Here is my excperience from last summer when my Russian tortoise was struggling with bladder stones and constipation:

Gritty urates or cuttle bone being passed? Or what?

Today while cleaning the enclousure of my Russian tortoise, I found this. I wonder whether it is just cuttle bone being passed, or whether it is something serious. It kinda looks like chewed up bubble gum. My tortoise has also had some weight loss. He used to weigh around 490 to 500 grams. I...

tortoiseforum.org

Have learned a lot since, but you might find reading this helpful.

 

[Yingg]

I put it just around the entrance. It will lubricate the cloaca making it easier and less painful to pass any future stones. You can feed cucumber daily until the symptoms go away (like constipation, struggling to pee etc.)

Feeding mineral oil rolled up in a lettuce will lubricate his insides and help with constipation too.

okay thank you so much! i will go to the store tomorrow!!

 

[Yingg]

Here is my excperience from last summer when my Russian tortoise was struggling with bladder stones and constipation:

Gritty urates or cuttle bone being passed? Or what?

Today while cleaning the enclousure of my Russian tortoise, I found this. I wonder whether it is just cuttle bone being passed, or whether it is something serious. It kinda looks like chewed up bubble gum. My tortoise has also had some weight loss. He used to weigh around 490 to 500 grams. I...

tortoiseforum.org

Have learned a lot since, but you might find reading this helpful.

oh thank you! this was great. your baby tort had a missing toe just like mine! except mine is permanent, haha. she's a cutie though. I hope she is happy with what I can give her. I met with many admissions officers for colleges and asked if I could keep a tortoise in their dorm. They said I could! So some schools do allow it, I hope I get lucky. i will rebuild her table to be bigger.

 

[Yingg]

I put it just around the entrance. It will lubricate the cloaca making it easier and less painful to pass any future stones. You can feed cucumber daily until the symptoms go away (like constipation, struggling to pee etc.)

Feeding mineral oil rolled up in a lettuce will lubricate his insides and help with constipation too.

oh on a second note, i don't believe this is a constipation issue. I've had this enclosure for months now, and she hasn't been outside for about two weeks because of rain and just general cold frosty weather. I simply just don't see poop. could there be another reason?

I feel like if she were constipated for two weeks and more, she would have a lot more serious issues.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

oh thank you! this was great. your baby tort had a missing toe just like mine! except mine is permanent, haha. she's a cutie though. I hope she is happy with what I can give her. I met with many admissions officers for colleges and asked if I could keep a tortoise in their dorm. They said I could! So some schools do allow it, I hope I get lucky. i will rebuild her table to be bigger.

My tortoise misses one nail in each of his back feet permanently, but one one of the nails he was missing when he came to me grew back.

I am a university student myself and had to find an apartment on the private sector here in Finland to be able to keep my tortoise with me. But our housing system here is different, there are no dorms, just shared student apartments but there your roommates have a say in whether or not you can keep a tortoise. Since the roommates change so frequently, I decided that I didn't want to risk it.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

oh on a second note, i don't believe this is a constipation issue. I've had this enclosure for months now, and she hasn't been outside for about two weeks because of rain and just general cold frosty weather. I simply just don't see poop. could there be another reason?

I feel like if she were constipated for two weeks and more, she would have a lot more serious issues.

To me this sounds like she is eating her own poop. (gross, I know) Sometimes this could be due to mineral imbalance, sometimes it is just out of habit. I know that for many redfoots this is just a habit.

Remind me, what is her current UVB and calcium supplementation routine? Do you give any other supplements?

 

[Yingg]

To me this sounds like she is eating her own poop. (gross, I know) Sometimes this could be due to mineral imbalance, sometimes it is just out of habit. I know that for many redfoots this is just a habit.

Remind me, what is her current UVB and calcium supplementation routine? Do you give any other supplements?

i use this light https://www.lightyourreptiles.com/arcadia-pro-t5-fixture-12-bulb-22-5-sale-now-only-69-99/
and it is a normal basking lamp, no mercury. i give her calcium once or twice a week, no other supplements. (does mazuri count?)

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

i use this light https://www.lightyourreptiles.com/arcadia-pro-t5-fixture-12-bulb-22-5-sale-now-only-69-99/
and it is a normal basking lamp, no mercury. i give her calcium once or twice a week, no other supplements. (does mazuri count?)

Which Mazuri formula do you use and how often? Some of them are quite high in protein and might cause/worsen bladder stones. (Urates are a by product of protein digestion)

 

[Yingg]

Which Mazuri formula do you use and how often? Some of them are quite high in protein and might cause/worsen bladder stones. (Urates are a by product of protein digestion)

I use LS!

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Sorry for a delay! Ugh I’m sorry to hear she’s had a stonedefinitely up the soaks to daily, I’d maybe see if you could get some pvc sheeting to put over the enclosure so her humidity can be higher for a few weeks, see if that helps, spray her food and a bit of cucumber won’t hurt to keep her extra hydrated. I wonder too if she’s possibly eating her poop

 

[Yingg]

Sorry for a delay! Ugh I’m sorry to hear she’s had a stonedefinitely up the soaks to daily, I’d maybe see if you could get some pvc sheeting to put over the enclosure so her humidity can be higher for a few weeks, see if that helps, spray her food and a bit of cucumber won’t hurt to keep her extra hydrated. I wonder too if she’s possibly eating her poop

i think eating it is the only possible reason it's all gone

also, i tried feeding her cucumber. she absolutely hates it! I pushed a piece of cabbage in her nose, and when she was about to bite it, i swapped it for the cucumber. she accidentally ate some though, I hope she will be okay... (red cabbage, maybe 5 bites?)

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

i think eating it is the only possible reason it's all gone

also, i tried feeding her cucumber. she absolutely hates it! I pushed a piece of cabbage in her nose, and when she was about to bite it, i swapped it for the cucumber. she accidentally ate some though, I hope she will be okay... (red cabbage, maybe 5 bites?)

How’s her appetite overall? Still off or?