My indian star tortoise is peeing green

Vivekk

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Joined
May 22, 2021
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9
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Visakhapatnam
Can someone give more insight ?? Plz I am waiting..
UPdate: his urine color turned yellowish and urate whitish green (will try posting a pic )
regarding diet : included alfa alfa (which he refuses to eat), moringa leaves, pumpkin leaves(ate once or twice)
 

narendramehta9657

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Apr 10, 2021
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Mumbai
Can someone give more insight ?? Plz I am waiting..
UPdate: his urine color turned yellowish and urate whitish green (will try posting a pic )
regarding diet : included alfa alfa (which he refuses to eat), moringa leaves, pumpkin leaves(ate once or twice)
@Tom
 

Tom

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My indian star has started to pee green lately I don't know what's the issue plz help me
Diet can sometimes discolor the urine or urates. If all else seems good, I would not worry about it. How is the appetite? Activity level? Are you soaking daily? How is the tortoise being housed? What are the temperatures? What substrate? What all do you feed it?

Answers to these questions will give us more to go on.
 

Vivekk

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May 22, 2021
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Visakhapatnam
He eats twice a day ..morning and evening
Diet : hibiscus flowers and leaves ,Roselle leaves.now included - moringa leaves , grape leaves , pumpkin leaves , alfa alfa , aloevera .he likes to eat okra ..but I don't give him much
I let him roam in the garden for 2-3 hours in the morning...will on his UVB &heat lamp in evenings for 2-3 hrs (it's not cool here in India) and remaining time stays in his cage (sub: topsoil + coco peat )
Soaking him in water 4 times a day ..sometimes with warm water.
 

Tom

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He eats twice a day ..morning and evening
Diet : hibiscus flowers and leaves ,Roselle leaves.now included - moringa leaves , grape leaves , pumpkin leaves , alfa alfa , aloevera .he likes to eat okra ..but I don't give him much
I let him roam in the garden for 2-3 hours in the morning...will on his UVB &heat lamp in evenings for 2-3 hrs (it's not cool here in India) and remaining time stays in his cage (sub: topsoil + coco peat )
Soaking him in water 4 times a day ..sometimes with warm water.
You only need to put food out once a day. Just put out enough to last all day. That diet sounds pretty good, but I'd add more variety and some tender young freshly sprouted grass.

You don't need indoor UV if the tortoise get sunshine. Sounds like you are using a mercury vapor bulb. I wouldn't use that. All you need is a regular hardware store type flood bulb for basking when indoors.
There are four elements to heating and lighting:
  1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt incandescent floods from the hardware store. Some people will need bigger, or smaller wattage bulbs. Let your thermometer be your guide. I run them on a timer for about 12 hours and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. I also like to use a flat rock of some sort directly under the bulb. You need to check the temp with a thermometer directly under the bulb and get it to around 95-100F (36-37C).
  2. Ambient heat maintenance. I use ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels set on thermostats to maintain ambient above 80 degrees day and night for tropical species. You'd only need day heat for a temperate species like Testudo or DT, as long as your house stays above 60F (15-16C) at night.
  3. Light. I use LEDs for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most bulbs at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish. Strip or screw-in bulb types are both fine.
  4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. In the UK, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. 5.0 bulbs make almost no UV. I like the 12%. You need a meter to check this: https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.html
Problems with MVBs:
1. They run too hot for a closed chamber, which is what you should be using.
2. They cause too much carapace desiccation which causes pyramiding.
3. They are fragile and break easily.
4. They are temperamental sometimes and shut themselves off for 20 minutes at a time.
5. They are expensive.
6. Their UV output runs from one extreme to the other. Some produce way too much UV, and other produce none at all after two or three months.

There should not be any soil in the substrate. Bagged soil is made form composted yard waste. There is no way to know what is in it. This might be your issue. The coco peat is safe, but its messy. Hand pack it down firmly. I prefer fine grade orchid bark, aka "Repti-bark".

There is no need for soaking 4 times a day. One 30-40 minute soak is enough. Always use warm water, never hot. Never cold.

Review this to see that you've got everything set up correctly: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/the-best-way-to-raise-a-sulcata-leopard-or-star-tortoise.181497/
 

Vivekk

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Joined
May 22, 2021
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9
Location (City and/or State)
Visakhapatnam
-I give him food twice a day because here mostly leaves don't stay fresh if left for long
- It's rainy season right now ..so it's mostly cloudly these days but I still let him roam ..is uv not required in such conditions ??
- the bulb I am using is mercury vapour bulb ( UVA +UVB ) . Got it recently shipped to India from usa ..with customs and taxes it costed me thrice the product cost ? most importantly he is not enjoying sitting under the bulb ..goes far from it .. will stop using it from now on.
- the soil I use is from my garden ..so I guess it is not a problem
 

narendramehta9657

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Joined
Apr 10, 2021
Messages
14
Location (City and/or State)
Mumbai
-I give him food twice a day because here mostly leaves don't stay fresh if left for long
- It's rainy season right now ..so it's mostly cloudly these days but I still let him roam ..is uv not required in such conditions ??
- the bulb I am using is mercury vapour bulb ( UVA +UVB ) . Got it recently shipped to India from usa ..with customs and taxes it costed me thrice the product cost ? most importantly he is not enjoying sitting under the bulb ..goes far from it .. will stop using it from now on.
- the soil I use is from my garden ..so I guess it is not a pro
 
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