As my little red foot grows he/she has been peeing constantly during feeding & sleeping, I mean I frequently noticed there's a puddle of urine around him/her when in situations like these. Is it normal for torts to pee often even when they're not disturbed? Do torts also urinate when they soak? How often should torts defecate as considered normal?
My red foot constantly peeing when eating & sleeping....
- Thread starter willee638
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They pee indiscriminately.
They usually poop in the water. They probably pee too.
What substrate are you using?
If the tortoise sits in puddles of urine, he'll get shell fungus pretty quickly.
They usually poop in the water. They probably pee too.
What substrate are you using?
If the tortoise sits in puddles of urine, he'll get shell fungus pretty quickly.
Minority2
Well-Known Member
Tortoises will usually void out what they have kept in their digestive and or urinary tracts, items such as leftover food that looks like waste and water that they may still be processing or hoarding, when they're able to find new food and or water to replace them with. It's pretty normal. Location to defecate would highly depend on the tortoise's needs.
I use coconut, mulch of bark & assortments of others substrates. I noticed in the enclosure is usually always dry but when I let her out to roam & feed then is when she pees & poo majority of the time & I will immediately wash it off & she's kept dry at most times. The enclosure to my tortoise is now only for sleep at nights & when I'm not home for her safety, He/she has gone from 97g to over 400+g now so outdoors & wider roaming space for her whenever possible.
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I seldom see my Redfoot pee because they live outside.
Normal poop consistency would be very similar to mammal poop.
Well formed and not watery.
Yes, I noticed sometimes when my tort is eating suddenly she stops & starts pooping or peeing. I guess it makes sense because they can sleep for weeks without food or when can't find any....
It is perfectly normal to pee and/or poo when eating. Morla pees usually (like 95% of the time) at the end of her daily meal in the eve, and once or twice throughout the day, almost always right or soon after her AM and afternoon hydration tube-feedings. She almost always poops soon after her meal, after (and sometimes during) her daily bath.
Pee should be clear colored and fully transparent, and hardly smells that much if very fresh. As the air dries it, it smells a bit like.... a weird seafood. As it gets yellower--and God forbid, brown, it means issues w/ dehydration and/or the kidneys (that's how I found out Morla had chronic kidney disease from prolonged dehydration at her former home). NOTE: certain foods may cause temporary discoloration of the urine. I don't know of many, but ive been told a lot of dandelion can cause pink or brown tinged pee. I have not had this with Morla myself. She still has clear pee with dandies, but I give her 3-4 veggies, plus pellets and dried herbs, per meal, so she doesn't get a lot of any one veggie. The time she had brown pee, she was very very sick.(Her kidneys were not functioning right.)
Sometimes the pee contains urates, which are a solid waste they produce and release with their urine. The more well-hydrated a tort is, the more often it will be dilute and released, so u may not see anything, or, if u look closely, (Morla almost always goes on a paper towel while eating or her pee pad, so I can see it well) a little thicker substance, which reminds me of the jelly-ish part of egg whites.
When she is a little more dehydrated, it gets thicker, more solid. Quality (how liquid) and quantity (how much) matter.
Lightly dehydrated: reminds me of the white part of bird poop, very opaque but liquid white, swirled in with the urine.
A little more dehydrated: the opaque white, but thicker, heavier liquid, like white-out was poured into the pee.
Dehydrated: thicker white, more and more like toothpaste as the dehydration gets worse
Critical dehydration: as the dehydration level starts to be something to worry about, the "toothpaste" becomes more crusty, solid....like the dried paste around the spout of the tube. Eventually, it's so solid, crusty, it is like dry, crusty white-out.
Because Morla needs the special hydration care, is hand fed her meal, and goes usually after her daily eve bath, she hardly ever goes in her cage and I see most of her releases. Although, if she's outside running about, she very often (50-60% of time) poops. (And yes, they should be dark brown, solid but moist logs or nuggets. Every so often, Morla will have a more loose, lighter (almost more olive-ish, rusty) colored "flaky" one--not well-formed and "flake" apart to a degree in the water when I flush it. Usually these resolve on their own w/I a day.
And obviously the less formed the poo is, the closer they get to being diarrhea. I've never had Morla's loose poo or diarrhea last more than a sitting or two, but I make sure to keep her esp hydrated then (more or longer soaks, and/or extra hydration given at her tubings). If it is heavy , full-fledged diarrhea lasting more than 2 days, I'd get her to a vet. If she was listless and weak (severe dehydration or evident illness), I'd do it sooner.
Note, if they're dry and harder, she's in need of some hydration or she's constipated. A pinch of banana (like the size of pinkie fingernail) with her meal always helps her when she's constipated (but due to high phosphorus levels, do not feed to her otherwise).
Hope this helps, though the best rule of thumb is to watch ur guy closely and learn his normal pattern, timing, amount, quality, etc. Excretion provides a really good indicator of their health and warning if changes/illness are happening.
Pee should be clear colored and fully transparent, and hardly smells that much if very fresh. As the air dries it, it smells a bit like.... a weird seafood. As it gets yellower--and God forbid, brown, it means issues w/ dehydration and/or the kidneys (that's how I found out Morla had chronic kidney disease from prolonged dehydration at her former home). NOTE: certain foods may cause temporary discoloration of the urine. I don't know of many, but ive been told a lot of dandelion can cause pink or brown tinged pee. I have not had this with Morla myself. She still has clear pee with dandies, but I give her 3-4 veggies, plus pellets and dried herbs, per meal, so she doesn't get a lot of any one veggie. The time she had brown pee, she was very very sick.(Her kidneys were not functioning right.)
Sometimes the pee contains urates, which are a solid waste they produce and release with their urine. The more well-hydrated a tort is, the more often it will be dilute and released, so u may not see anything, or, if u look closely, (Morla almost always goes on a paper towel while eating or her pee pad, so I can see it well) a little thicker substance, which reminds me of the jelly-ish part of egg whites.
When she is a little more dehydrated, it gets thicker, more solid. Quality (how liquid) and quantity (how much) matter.
Lightly dehydrated: reminds me of the white part of bird poop, very opaque but liquid white, swirled in with the urine.
A little more dehydrated: the opaque white, but thicker, heavier liquid, like white-out was poured into the pee.
Dehydrated: thicker white, more and more like toothpaste as the dehydration gets worse
Critical dehydration: as the dehydration level starts to be something to worry about, the "toothpaste" becomes more crusty, solid....like the dried paste around the spout of the tube. Eventually, it's so solid, crusty, it is like dry, crusty white-out.
Because Morla needs the special hydration care, is hand fed her meal, and goes usually after her daily eve bath, she hardly ever goes in her cage and I see most of her releases. Although, if she's outside running about, she very often (50-60% of time) poops. (And yes, they should be dark brown, solid but moist logs or nuggets. Every so often, Morla will have a more loose, lighter (almost more olive-ish, rusty) colored "flaky" one--not well-formed and "flake" apart to a degree in the water when I flush it. Usually these resolve on their own w/I a day.
And obviously the less formed the poo is, the closer they get to being diarrhea. I've never had Morla's loose poo or diarrhea last more than a sitting or two, but I make sure to keep her esp hydrated then (more or longer soaks, and/or extra hydration given at her tubings). If it is heavy , full-fledged diarrhea lasting more than 2 days, I'd get her to a vet. If she was listless and weak (severe dehydration or evident illness), I'd do it sooner.
Note, if they're dry and harder, she's in need of some hydration or she's constipated. A pinch of banana (like the size of pinkie fingernail) with her meal always helps her when she's constipated (but due to high phosphorus levels, do not feed to her otherwise).
Hope this helps, though the best rule of thumb is to watch ur guy closely and learn his normal pattern, timing, amount, quality, etc. Excretion provides a really good indicator of their health and warning if changes/illness are happening.
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Thanks, that's very detailed observation. I did noticed on occasions her urine is brown & with a strong pungent odour & moist poop when fed with fruits, I don't believe she's sick because she eats regularly & is growing at a normal rate increasing in weight weekly. I sprinkle calcium carbonate supplement w/ D3 on her feeds every once every 2-3 days so not to cause kidney issues, I heard tortoises can get urinary track infections. I once saw my tort was foaming at the mouth while spending time on a grass field under the sun, I guess she might have been too dehydrated or eaten some disagreeable plant.
saleena.lewis
Active Member
I'd recommend reading this care sheet also...
www.tortoiseforum.org
Redfoot Tortoise Care Sheet
NOTE: I do not keep redfoots, and I only have one tortoise in total. With this in mind, remember that I am in no way an expert, and this should not be used as cold hard proof of how to raise a redfoot. I used information from great keepers on this forum to put everything together. This care...
www.tortoiseforum.org
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