White stuff
- Thread starter Puffer21
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Mine did that once. I came to the conclusion that he drank too much water. and I probably had it too deep. It reminded me of baby spit-up. Although it could have been his de-tox too. I don't think the pet store was feeding him the best stuff and this happened early on when we first got him. And I had started giving him more natural weeds, etc.
So I don't know if that helped or not...
So I don't know if that helped or not...
More than likely, rather than vomit, it was urates. A tortoise sometimes "pees" out urates. Here's what the Sulcata Station has to say about urates:
"Sulcata Station's response: The white stuff is the tortoise's urine. It is made up of urates -- a combination of excess uric acid, minerals, and other body waste products that the tortoise's kidneys have filtered out and excreted. Urates can vary in consistency from totally liquid to about the same consistency as toothpaste.
Urates in your tortoise's droppings is not necessarily a bad thing. However, it can indicate a problem in either of the two following instances:
1. Do the urates seem really hard or gritty, or does your tortoise seems to be straining to poop? If so, your tortoise may be dehydrated. You need to start soaking your tortoise more regularly, or provide more humidity in its enclosure, to prevent it getting dehydrated and having the urates solidify into a bladder stone. If the tortoise is *really* straining, or not pooping at all, take it to a reptile veterinarian immediately, because it could already have a bladder stone, and such stones could actually kill it.
2. Is your tortoise is passing urates more than three times per week? If so, you may need to take a look at what you feeding your tortoise. Feeding too much protein to herbivorous tortoises can stress the kidneys and cause them to produce a lot of urates. Make sure you are feeding your sulcata a low-protein, high-fiber diet (that is, lots of grass, hay and edible weeds, and NO ANIMAL PROTEINS) and that you soak the tortoise regularly."
If your tortoise had the white around his mouth, he was probably eating the urates.
Yvonne
"Sulcata Station's response: The white stuff is the tortoise's urine. It is made up of urates -- a combination of excess uric acid, minerals, and other body waste products that the tortoise's kidneys have filtered out and excreted. Urates can vary in consistency from totally liquid to about the same consistency as toothpaste.
Urates in your tortoise's droppings is not necessarily a bad thing. However, it can indicate a problem in either of the two following instances:
1. Do the urates seem really hard or gritty, or does your tortoise seems to be straining to poop? If so, your tortoise may be dehydrated. You need to start soaking your tortoise more regularly, or provide more humidity in its enclosure, to prevent it getting dehydrated and having the urates solidify into a bladder stone. If the tortoise is *really* straining, or not pooping at all, take it to a reptile veterinarian immediately, because it could already have a bladder stone, and such stones could actually kill it.
2. Is your tortoise is passing urates more than three times per week? If so, you may need to take a look at what you feeding your tortoise. Feeding too much protein to herbivorous tortoises can stress the kidneys and cause them to produce a lot of urates. Make sure you are feeding your sulcata a low-protein, high-fiber diet (that is, lots of grass, hay and edible weeds, and NO ANIMAL PROTEINS) and that you soak the tortoise regularly."
If your tortoise had the white around his mouth, he was probably eating the urates.
Yvonne
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