Urination question

[SienaSunshine]

I was giving Sunshine (Russian Tortoise) a soak the other day and put her little tub on her usual basking spot so she could soak and enjoy the "sun" at the same time. I know that soaking can help with shedding and excreting waste. In other words, I'm used to her defecating and urinating in her tub. I was keeping an eye on her and when it seemed she had had enough, I went to take her out. That when I noticed this in the tub (see pictures). It looked white like urine but it was almost incapsulated? when I took her out and dumped the water into the toilet, it still held together. I poked it with a toothpick and it was just kind of solidly gooey. (Sorry, that sounds super gross, I know)

I give her calcium powder on her food, but I know too much can cause problems. She was deficient when I got her (she was abandoned in the woods, read my intro post for more on that) so I've been sprinkling her food with the powder each time I feed. Am I giving her too much? I just wanted to now if this was ok? I'm a newbie tortoise mom so I worry about everything lol

Could it possibly be an under calcified unfertilized egg? She's a female (as far as I know) but I don't think she's at sexual maturity yet. I have no idea how old she truly is. About a year maybe?

 

[Tom]

I was giving Sunshine (Russian Tortoise) a soak the other day and put her little tub on her usual basking spot so she could soak and enjoy the "sun" at the same time. I know that soaking can help with shedding and excreting waste. In other words, I'm used to her defecating and urinating in her tub. I was keeping an eye on her and when it seemed she had had enough, I went to take her out. That when I noticed this in the tub (see pictures). It looked white like urine but it was almost incapsulated? when I took her out and dumped the water into the toilet, it still held together. I poked it with a toothpick and it was just kind of solidly gooey. (Sorry, that sounds super gross, I know)

I give her calcium powder on her food, but I know too much can cause problems. She was deficient when I got her (she was abandoned in the woods, read my intro post for more on that) so I've been sprinkling her food with the powder each time I feed. Am I giving her too much? I just wanted to now if this was ok? I'm a newbie tortoise mom so I worry about everything lol

Could it possibly be an under calcified unfertilized egg? She's a female (as far as I know) but I don't think she's at sexual maturity yet. I have no idea how old she truly is. About a year maybe?

She's well over a year. You can post pics of the tail and anal scutes and we may be able to confirm the sex.

The white stuff is urates. It is a by-product of protein digestion and it should be passing in the soft gooey form you've observed. Hard and gritty urates indicate dehydration. Urates have nothing to do with calcium or calcium intake.

Russian are not grass or hay eaters, so I would remove that hay from the enclosure. It serves no purpose and it will mold if it gets damp.

Here is the current and correct care info to help you out:

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