Hello

[little gem]

hello there im new to this site was looking for information on my tortoise i have had one for nearly a year now and have just bought a new one. My oldest is is 1year and 4 months old and my newest one is only 4 months. I do have a question as im a little worried firstly my oldest has recently started to get large calcium deposits when he wees or poos i cant seem to tall witch he is doing but there quite big lumps they come out soft and slowly get hard. also i find it really hard to get my little one to eat is there anything i can do? and do any of these problems seem unhealthy? many thanks gemma

[wizzasmum]

Originally Posted by little gem

hello there im new to this site was looking for information on my tortoise i have had one for nearly a year now and have just bought a new one. My oldest is is 1year and 4 months old and my newest one is only 4 months. I do have a question as im a little worried firstly my oldest has recently started to get large calcium deposits when he wees or poos i cant seem to tall witch he is doing but there quite big lumps they come out soft and slowly get hard. also i find it really hard to get my little one to eat is there anything i can do? and do any of these problems seem unhealthy? many thanks gemma

This is a sign of dehydration which means you need to bathe them more regularly. If left unchecked this can develop into a bladder stone which can be difficult to treat, especially in a small tortoise. When feeding, wash the food first to aid extra water intake and make sure the temps in the enclosure are not kept over hot. Try adding a little cucumber to the diet for hydration purposed too.
Have you not quarantined the new one, or was it from the same breeder?

[urban tortoise]

Hi and , Sue (wizzasmum) is a very experienced tort kepper and i would follow her advice to a T!

Something we all do is bath our tortoises, every day if they are dehydrated and then perhaps two to three times a weeks once the urates (the white gritty stoney stuff) is more like a milky consitancy.

Food wise, what do you feed her?

Janey

[Tortoise Trust]

Yes, this is not calcium (or anything to do with it) but instead is urates. This is the byproduct of the protein metabolism in chelonia. As Sue says, hydration is critical. So is the overall diet.

Thick urates are a sign of dehydration, and possible of too much protein in the diet in addition.

Andy Highfield
www.tortoisetrust.org

[little gem]

Thank you for all the help i feed hime a mixture of rocket, water cress and basil. i will now bath him everyday. any ideas on how to get my little one to eat more? i did quarentine them for a week but they dont seem bothered by each other so now are kept together.

[Tina]

Originally Posted by little gem

Thank you for all the help i feed hime a mixture of rocket, water cress and basil. i will now bath him everyday. any ideas on how to get my little one to eat more? i did quarentine them for a week but they dont seem bothered by each other so now are kept together.

They need a far greater variety of food in their diet, take a look at this list...

Diet and healthy growth

There is also a sticky at the top of this section with pictures of edible plants. Florette bags of crispy leaves and chicory are a good addition to weeds/plants when they're in short supply in winter.

Bathing them will encourage them to eat more. What temperatures are you keeping them at? Basking and cool end?

Quarantine isn't about them being 'bothered by each other' it's about ensuring the new tort is healthy and eating well and will not pass on anything to your original tort - parasites or any type of infection. A 6 month (absolute minimum) period of quarantine is recommended and some say up to 18 months to be absolutely sure.

[wizzasmum]

I'd agree with Tina, it's critical that they are quarantined as various illness's can take months to show up. If you have bought them from a pet shop or other dealer it is even more important as you have no way of knowing if cross contamination between species has taken place. I would never take this risk myself.
Sue

[little gem]

they are kept at 30 degrees all round the viv. i have had the new one checked over by my vets who said he/she is fine. will definately look into more food options but was told by my vet to only feed upto 3 diffrent types of food at one time and no more. its so hard to find correct info at the moment as the more people i speak to to more difrent answers i get. so thank you for your info its nice to get info from people you know that are experienced in tortoises.

[Lorna]

Hi Gemma

If you go onto the tortoise trust website Tortoise Trust Web - Start Page there is a free downloadable booklet about caring for your tortoise. It is full of useful information, as is the rest of the website. It has lots of advice about diet and husbandry.

Lorna

[wizzasmum]

Originally Posted by little gem

they are kept at 30 degrees all round the viv. i have had the new one checked over by my vets who said he/she is fine. will definately look into more food options but was told by my vet to only feed upto 3 diffrent types of food at one time and no more. its so hard to find correct info at the moment as the more people i speak to to more difrent answers i get. so thank you for your info its nice to get info from people you know that are experienced in tortoises.

Unfortunately there is no way of your vet knowing the tortoise is fine and he should not be so bold as to say so unless he took numerous samples. The info he gave you re feeding is very odd, I wonder who tells them this in the wild.
I think I would change my vet to be honest. as he does not seem to be a tortoise specialist. If you give your approximate location someone will be able to help with finding a decent one