Question regarding Sulcata's urine

[Squirt]

The white chalky uric acid that comes out when the sulcata urinates... Is it normal to see that all the time? What is too much and what is too little. I havent seen any pictures or havent seen that much info in regards to this.

[Bartman]

that is just urine..how frequant is this?

maybe temps, humidity, all that info could help possibly...

[Squirt]

This chalky white uric acid usually happens once every two days i soak the tortoise

[Bartman]

they will usually deficate when their soaked..dont know why but they do...sorry i cant be of more help

[Turtle Matt]

A lot of desert species will only defecate and urinate when presented with a new water source.. This is to prevent drying out, so basically, in new water is around,get rid of the old stuff. It is normal.
Matt

[Linds]

What are you feeding your tortoise? Urates are not typically seen in reptiles fed a strictly vegetarian diet...

[aaron]

Linds,

A friend of mine has a very healthy approx. 5 year old sulcatta that is fed ONLY grasses , dandilion and dark green leafy vegetation. I can say first hand as I've witnessed the urates being excreted as it was soaking. I questioned him on this and he said it was normal. This Tort gets absolutley no animal protien at all.

Aaron

[johnnym1972]

Hello all, it is absolutely normal for a healthy Tortoise to excrete chalky white urates when they defecate and urinate. All of my Tortoises pass urates, and all of them are fed as strict vegetarians, with appropriate diets for each species. It is not normal if the urates are passed as solid or chunky masses, but if the urates are chalky white and granular that is completely normal. I hope that this helps to clear up the confusion and eliminate your concerns. You are welcome to PM or email me anytime if you have any other questions, or if you ever need advice relating to your Tortoise.
Take care, Johnny.

[Linds]

Hmmm... I've never witnessed my tortoise, or the tortoises at work excrete urates, or any other vegetarian reptiles (chuckwallas, iguanas, etc.) for that matter. I also recall reading that urates were exclusive to omnivorous/carnivorous reptiles.

[Squirt]

Thanks for your responses. I feed my tortoise grass, dandelion leafs and the yellow part and other edible weeds and grasses. Usually my tortoise passes the white chalky uric acid when i soak him in luke warm water.

[johnnym1972]

Hello Linds, I'm not being rude, but do you even know what urates are? It seems like you are really misinformed on this subject.
Take care, Johnny.

[Squirt]

now i've noticed alot of of white pebbles in my substrate. is this from the tortoise urine? everytime i remove the white pebbles. i see more the next day.

[Pirranha]

if it would help for comparasion my iguana had urates both along with its defications and seperatly,and it was on a totally vegetarian diet.
I think every reptile should have urates shoudnt they?It would be like us never peeing.

[johnnym1972]

The little white pebbles are most likely dried up pieces of urates, unless you have Perlite in your substrate. The little pebble like pieces of urates are completely normal, as long as they are no larger than 1/2 of a grain of rice. Are you using some kind of potting soil as substrate? If so, there are many types of potting soil that contain Perlite, and it can be very harmful to your Tortoise. If you are using potting soil with Perlite, replace it a.s.a.p. to avoid any problems. I hope that this helps to ease your concerns. :)
Take care, Johnny.

[Squirt]

No i dont think im using perlite. im using top soil. one of my friends bought it from home depot , he made sure the ingredients didnt include anything dangerous like fertizlier and so on.

But anyways thanks johnnym1972 for the info

[Dani33]

Hi everyone, I am getting a redfoot soon and was rereading some information pertaining to their care. During my research, I came across some information in regards to this discussion.

A tortoise or turtle processes waste depending on their habitat, not their diet. According to the following article, only species from arid regions should produce urates and species from humid and tropical regions should produce urea. So, if your redfoot is producing urates, something is wrong (maybe dehydrated?). On the other hand, if your sulcatta is, it is perfectly normal.

This website is considered a very reliable source of information for turtles and tortoises. Refer to the last paragraph. I hope that this clears up any confusion.

http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/feeding_redfoots.html

[K1LOS]

well that makes sense. I was thinking "why would a herp with access to all kinds of water excrete urates? Isn't the whole purpose to conserve water?" Good explanation.thanks dani

Geoff

[johnnym1972]

Hello Geoff, urates are the solids formed from uric acid, they are not the liquid portion of a bowel/urinary evacuation. Tortoises are designed by nature to conserve water, despite their environment. Free access to water has no bearing or effect on the volume of urates that are produced, since urates are solids, not liquids. I hope that this helps you understand what urates are, and what they are not.
Take care, Johnny.