Hi All

Just some advice really.

Tuga swallowed a stone yesterday from the garden. It was about the size of a small pea. Tuga weighs 112g and is 90mm long (as of yesterday). I am worried that its too big to pass through. I tried to get it out but he swallowed it before i could grab it.

Should we be worried or will it pass naturally???

He was munching on the cuttle fish and then next thing i seen was this stone in his mouth!!!

Please help??

Catherine

Hi Catherine, They must do this all the time in the wild. I wouldn't panic just yet. It should pass with out any problems, just keep a close eye on her that s/he doesn't start to strain. Make sure you are providing enough calcium as it is the start of the growing season.

Any problems just get back to us,

Elaine

Hi Catherine,

I wouldn't worry too much. My Doris has a passion for small white stones (lots of tortoises do -- even if they are getting sufficient calcium and minerals in their diet). Stones can become impacted, but most of the time they pass right through, especially if they don't have sharp edges. If I were you, would examine every poo for the next two or three weeks, and I'll bet you find it. If you don't see it, but she is still eating and pooing with no problems, then I think she will still be fine.

The best you can do for the future is to try and ensure she doesn't have access to small stones (but this is almost impossible), and put a cuttlefish bone in her enclosure so she can nibble on that. I spent a whole week once, sifting the soil in Doris's enclosure to get rid of the stones, but they still appeared magically, the moment I turned my back!

Nina

Nina

Many thanks for putting our minds at rest Elaine.

We will be keeping a eye on his bowel movements.

We have a cuttle fish in their encloser and a small bowl of lime stone, but they only seem to like the cuttelfish after weeks of being out in the weather, so we try and change it as often as we can. I think we will start sprinkling the limestone flour on their food to make sure that they get their calcium.

Many thanks agian

Catherine  

At that size I would be putting a vit like Nutrobol on the food at least twice per week and limstone flour on food all other days. I keep my limstone in a flour or sugar shaker and this makes it so much easier to use on a regular basis. I am luck with the cuttlebone as i live near the sea, so I collect and leave in a plant pot with holes in the bottom of it, this way I have loads of 'going off' cuttle fish. Strange how they love it weathered. I also chuck my old dried up bits in their enclosure hopeing that the plants may draw-up the added calcium.

Good luck

Elaine