Nutritional Advice

[Tori67]

Hi guys! My tort just had surgery (went well) for bladder stones. They went through his cloaca, chipped away at the stone and pulled pieces out until it was almost completely gone (much less invasive procedure than a plastronomy) however, he still has a bit left that the vet said should pass with hydration and vibration therapy.

What would be a good diet for now? I know protein can cause bladder stones, but I want to get low protein lettuce, and keep him on a regimen while he is healing to prevent bladder stones.

I’m soaking every day, vibration therapy 2x a day for 5 minutes, spray his lettuce with water.

I have broadleaf plantain nearby (non-fertlized) and of course grocery stores

What would you guys recommend?

 

[Yvonne G]

It is my understanding that along with dehydration, stones are also caused by eating too much of the cruciferous foods - cabbage, kale, bok choy, broccoli etc.

 

[Tori67]

It is my understanding that along with dehydration, stones are also caused by eating too much of the cruciferous foods - cabbage, kale, bok choy, broccoli etc.

I’ve never fed him any of that except radicchio! And that’s on occasion

 

[TammyJ]

What species is he? How is he kept? Temperature, humidity, substrate etc. Let us have details.

 

[Tori67]

What species is he? How is he kept? Temperature, humidity, substrate etc. Let us have details.

Oh okay sorry! Honestly it slipped my mind 😅

Greek tortoise
He lives in large tortoise table inside with cypress mulch. Has an outdoor enclosure as well.
40-60% humidity
95-100° Basking spot
80-85° ambient
70-75° cool side
I use flood bulbs, and a t5 uvb strip

 

[Tom]

Oh okay sorry! Honestly it slipped my mind 😅

Greek tortoise
He lives in large tortoise table inside with cypress mulch. Has an outdoor enclosure as well.
40-60% humidity
95-100° Basking spot
80-85° ambient
70-75° cool side
I use flood bulbs, and a t5 uvb strip

All this sounds good, as does your diet.

What size is the table? Lack of space can contribute to stones too.

High fiber foods are key. Broadleaf weeds, leaves, opuntia, etc... I would not worry about the protein content of the diet as much as hydration. Soak this guy daily and then taper to every other. When they are well hydrated, they won't form stones.

Refer to this for food ideas:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[RosemaryDW]

I’ve never fed him any of that except radicchio! And that’s on occasion

Radicchio is a chicory, part of the lettuce family. Just a very bitter one. So you aren't feeding him too much. In fact you might even add some when he is more himself. No rush at present but it's something he would regularly eat in the wild. Things like wild radish or mustard