Pink Urine, lots of wetness

[Secant7]

We have two Russian Tortises, one of which we got a month ago. She's active but lately has had pink as well as white urine. There also is lots of wetness underneath the pink and white urine. We feed them mostly romaine lettuce. She hasn't soaked in water for over a week. Could this be the problem?
She seems to be eating, although less than before.

The pink urine showed up yesterday and was there again today.
We're worried about her.

Thank you.

 

[lkwagner]

Could it be blood in the urine? A uti?

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

Sometimes pink urine is due to plant pigments from the diet. This is common when eating a lot of dandelions, but it's harmless. You say yours has been eating mostly Romaine lettuce, though, so that might not be it. If it's blood, then that could be due to dehydration. Make sure your tortoise gets plenty of moisture. He should have a shallow dish in his pen for drinking and bathing whenever he wants to. He should also have a moist (but not damp) substrate, like coconut coir, to prevent excessive water loss from the body. And a healthy Russian tortoise should be bathed once a week in warm water.

But the other things you described sound normal. The cloaca of a reptile is the single opening into which both the urethra and rectum empty, so their waste can be a mixture of urine and feces at the same time. Also, Testudos like Russians and many other tortoises use urate to get rid of waste products from protein metabolism, instead of urea. This is why their urine looks white, but if it weren't wet, then that would be cause for alarm. If the urine is liquid with urate in it, that's a good sign, because that means the tortoise is not dehydrated.

You sure you haven't been offering plants that could tint the urine pink?

 

[Secant7]

No different foods, it's just been romaine lettuce. But, they are not getting the baths they need and the water dish has been dry for two weeks (it's our daughter's turtle. She didn't think they were using it so didn't put water in it).

But I'm much relieved after reading your reply. Tonight, I'll give them both a 20 minute bath. There is water now in their dish.

BTW, are they a bit territorial? The one tortise bites the other one's shell sometimes. And sometimes they fight over a piece of lettuce.

Thank you for your response! We were pretty worried about the tortise!!

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Secant7, and welcome to the Forum!!

Your tortoises' diet is very much lacking in nutrition. When one wants to go on a diet, they eat lettuce. Your diet of romaine lettuce is providing enough nutrition to keep the tortoises alive, but not enough for them to grow and be healthy. Here is a list of foods you should be choosing from for your tortoises to eat and be healthy:

Most grocery stores have a decent selection of greens that Russians readily eat.
Romaine lettuce (fed on occasion)
Red and green leaf lettuce (fed on occasion)
Endive
Escarole
Radicchio
Chicory
Turnip greens
Mustard greens
Kale
Collards
Spring Mix (mixed salad greens)
cabbage (fed on occasion)

 

[JoesMum]

BTW, are they a bit territorial? The one tortise bites the other one's shell sometimes. And sometimes they fight over a piece of lettuce.

Thank you for your response! We were pretty worried about the tortise!!

Yes, they are territorial. In the wild, Russians roam over large areas. They are largely solitary and meet up to mate before moving on. They are capable of both mental and physical bullying, including biting which can draw blood. The subordinate tortoise withdraws and is likely to become ill and may die.

Two Russians do not make good companions in a small indoor enclosure. Th are best kept as solitary animals (thy don't get lonely). Groups of tree or more can work in a large outdoor enclosure with plenty of sight barriers, but there are no guarantees.

If biting is happening they need to be separated now.


With regard to diet, they need a variety of leafy greens as Yvonne said in the previous post. The Tortoise Table does a plant booklet that you can download from here which is great to use in the supermarket and out in your yard for finding stuff that's healthy to eat. Just like humans, tortoises do not thrive n a diet of just one thing.