What is a healthy color of urine and fecal matter?

Melissa Butler

New Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2017
Messages
19
I'm a new Herman's tortoise owner. I've done a bunch of research and think that I'm providing a healthy environment for my tort. But, this morning his urine was white. Is this normal? Also, his poop is always green, soft and mushy. What does healthy urine and poop look like?
 

JoesMum

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Oct 26, 2011
Messages
21,610
Location (City and/or State)
Kent, South East England
Hello Melissa and welcome to TFO from Kent UK

The white you are seeing is called urate. Your tort pees this as well as urine. Urate is how your tort gets rid of excess proteins and is completely normal. Urate should be a jelly like liquid. If it is gritty then your tort is dehydrated.

Urine should be a clear liquid, but it can be coloured by what your tort is eating. Dandelions, for example, can colour it pink! Shades of green and brown should not be dark... Again the better hydrated your tort is the paler the urine.

The key to keeping your tort healthy and hydrated is to soak it regularly. For young and new animals, and in hot weather, you should soak daily for at least 20 minutes.

Use a large flat-bottomed bowl that your tort can't see over or through. A washing up bowl is ideal.

The water should be warm, not hot, and be deep enough to come just up over the join between the shell and the plastron.

I find soaking to be most successful first thing in the morning before your tort has warmed up properly

I recommend you read the TFO care guides if you haven't already

They're written by species experts working hard to correct the outdated information widely available on the internet and from pet stores and, sadly, from some breeders and vets too.

Beginner Mistakes
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

Hermann's Care
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/sticky-hermanns-tortoise-care-sheet-updated.101410/
 

Melissa Butler

New Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2017
Messages
19
Thank you so very much! I found the info you provided very valuable. Such a relief to have a forum like this to help ease a new owners worries.
 
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