Sulcata pee???

[jnirvello]

this is the first time I’ve ever seen my tort pee like this... it’s ushally clear with urates. Is he ok???

 

[Bambam1989]

Has your tort been eating dandelions? They can cause a pink or slightly brown discoloration in urine.
You usually don't see urates when the tort is getting enough hydration..

 

[jnirvello]

I read from someone on here that urates indicate how long they’ve been holding their pee and that when the urate is released it’s feok when they held their pee in because in the wild they don’t know the next time they’ll find water

 

[Bambam1989]

I read from someone on here that urates indicate how long they’ve been holding their pee and that when the urate is released it’s feok when they held their pee in because in the wild they don’t know the next time they’ll find water

My understanding of urates is that if a young tort is getting daily soaks, has drinking water available at all times and a proper diet then their bodies don't need to go through the process that creates urates.
If he was started dry or perhaps you were given the outdated info on raising them before finding your way to the forum, would explain why you see urates. Over time the urates will be expelled and you won't see them.

 

[jnirvello]

I soak him daily for over 30 min sometimes he falls asleep, he always has water available too

 

[Bambam1989]

I soak him daily for over 30 min sometimes he falls asleep, he always has water available too

You have had him a couple months now right? I am not an expert but I would assume that by now any urates would be soft and a noticable decrease in amount/ frequency.
@Tom @Yvonne G @JoesMum and some of the other experienced keepers could probably explain to us both what causes urates to form and how long you could expect to see them in a young tort.

 

[jnirvello]

I don’t seen them very often but they are still there

 

[Jay Bagley]

I don’t seen them very often but they are still there

I soak my tortoise daily, I spray his food down, and he has access to a water dish. He still seems to pass urates every other day. When I first got him and he hit his first soak, I could not believe how many urates came out and they were very much like small gravel. They have gotten better over time and there is not near as much that comes out but it is still every other day. So I to wonder how much and how often is normal. They are usually like toothpaste now, and I don't know if there's any correlation between it but when he goes on a cuttlebone frenzy his urates look like they almost have pieces a cuttlebone in them and also wonder if this is normal.

 

[jnirvello]

Well last night he was eating his cuttle bone and his pee was like that today. I’ve never seen it so cloudy

 

[Bambam1989]

What has he been eating other than cuttlebone?

 

[Jay Bagley]

Well last night he was eating his cuttle bone and his pee was like that today. I’ve never seen it so cloudy

Don't take my word for it, I don't know if the cuttlebone really has anything to do with it or not. More less I was just a little curious myself. I'm quite a newbie to keeping tortoises. Just for my own observations and it might be totally coincidental my sulcata urates are usually pretty creamy. But once or twice a week he goes absolutely nuts chewing his cuttlebone, and then usually a few days after that is when I noticed the little bit of grit in his urate. I give him calcium supplement once or twice a week, so between that and the cuttlebone and the mazuri I give him I may be giving him too much calcium.

 

[jnirvello]

Mixed greens, weeds from his enclosure... although on Sunday he did have some pumpkin??

 

[Emily Contreras]

Hows it going with your tort?