Mazuri ls and urates

[Justincl]

Great news my baby ginger (my tortoises name) loves the mazuri ls diet that i bought and i have a few questions as well. For a few days i've been seeing urate texture like the one below. Its kinda pasty but its like theres a few soft sand particles (not gritty but soft powder like) but overall if u rub against your fingers it feels pasty. Is it normal? Because usually i see my guy's urates very pasty

 

[JoesMum]

The urate is getting gritty and indicates your tortoise is dehydrated. It should be more like mucus.

You need to soak this tortoise twice a day for at least 30 minutes in warm water that is just deep enough to come up over the join between the shell and the plastron (plate on his tummy). Use a large flat bottomed bowl that your tort can’t see over or through; a washing up bowl is ideal.

In the morning, soaking before before your tort has warmed up properly minimises the escape attempts. In the evening you will have more scrabbling. Get the water temperature right and your tort may just sprawl and relax.

Your tort will inevitably poop in the water. Again this will upset you more than your tort. Don’t worry about it ?

 

[Justincl]

The urate is getting gritty and indicates your tortoise is dehydrated. It should be more like mucus.

You need to soak this tortoise twice a day for at least 30 minutes in warm water that is just deep enough to come up over the join between the shell and the plastron (plate on his tummy). Use a large flat bottomed bowl that your tort can’t see over or through; a washing up bowl is ideal.

In the morning, soaking before before your tort has warmed up properly minimises the escape attempts. In the evening you will have more scrabbling. Get the water temperature right and your tort may just sprawl and relax.

Your tort will inevitably poop in the water. Again this will upset you more than your tort. Don’t worry about it ?

Actually i do soak 2x a day 30 to 40 minutes each soak but i think she's just not drinking enough because some days she'll just not drink. Her urates used to look like these

 

[JoesMum]

It isn’t that bad going by your later photos. Your tortoise has a beautifully smooth shell - well done.

In hot climates like yours you my have to soak even longer (maybe an hour) and/or do it 3 times a day particularly if it’s being raised in an air-conditioned environment,

 

[Justincl]

It isn’t that bad going by your later photos. Your tortoise has a beautifully smooth shell - well done.

In hot climates like yours you my have to soak even longer (maybe an hour) and/or do it 3 times a day particularly if it’s being raised in an air-conditioned environment,

Thanks though some members said that she's a bit pyramided which i sort of agree and i am going for a high fiber diet since the seller apparently used fishy smelling ones. And i think because of that she had a tiny bladder stone before but after i fed cactus for the first time a miracle happened past december and the stone came out

 

[Justincl]

This was the stone and as for now i have seen my guy staying in one spot while soaking and trying to push something out. I dont think its a stone though since i usually see urates however for the past few days i havent seen drinking from her neck. This morning i fed quite a lot of cactus and she eventually peed and i saw creamy urates and this evening i saw a gush of water in the soak which i assume was pee. I removed the coco husk since ome night i saw her trying to eat one chip of it. Till now im still scared that a small piece might have been inside her since the seller didnt use substrate

 

[Mons]

The eating-substrate thing: some people on here have mentioned sprinkling Miner-All on your tortoise's food to help stop that, and I've read it can be a sign that they're looking for nutrients they need but aren't getting or aren't getting enough of in their diet. I'm still learning myself so try searching for a post about Miner-All on here from one of the well known members here. I bought some and once in a while I sprinkle a little on my tort's food (other times I'll sprinkle Herptivite or Repashy Calcium Plus D3), and my tortoise doesn't seem to be eating his substrate anymore.

... Actually, do look it up. My tortoise is a little older than yours and I don't recall if anyone mentioned if it's fine or not for babies.