Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,
I have had a male Russian Tortoise for around a week now and have him indoors for now as I live in Cincinnati, OH and it gets cold this time of year. At first he would just sleep and not do anything. Lately he finally started eating some greens and is awake and more active during the day. I have a small water dish he was soaking in and pooped in. Now the poop is white and I did not see any trace of parasites or worms or anything, but is the color supposed to be this way? Thanks for any help.

Also I was in the chat room recently and was "kicked out" and have not been allowed to return, but I am not certain if there is just a problem with the interface. I emailed the user in charge and have yet to receive anything other than an automated email.

The white part of the droppings is called "urates" This is completely normal for most reptiles. If the urates is hard like a rock when expelled, then the animal probably needs more water, humidity or soaking.
-----
2.1 Albino BP
0.4 100% Het Albino
2.1 100% het Caramel Albino BP
1.0 100% Het Clown
1.0 50% het clown
2.12 Normal BP
0.0.1 Western Hognose
alot of cornsnakes
0.1.0 Dumeril Boa
3.6 Bearded Dragons
1.0.1 Sulcatta tortoise
2.0 Russian Tortoise
1.0 Cockatiel
0.1 Rottweiler
0.2 Boston Terriers
0.1 White Boxer
0.1 Paint Mare
bunch of geckos
0.1 Teenage daughter
1.0 Husband who puts up with all my critters.

Well this one was purchased at a reptile expo so I am not certain how he was cared for prior to my possession. There were three droppings and they are all completely white. He did poop when I first brought him home and it was all black.

Then the droppings are probably all white because the food he recently started eating hasn't made it through his system yet. Give him a few more days of steady eating and you should start seeing a good mix of feces and urates.

I would take a fecal to the vet just to ensure that there are no parasites.

Sounds like he's doing just fine though. It's very normal for a tort to go off feed for a week or more when it has just been placed in a new home. It's a very stressful situation and all they probably care about at that point is finding a nice dark space to crawl into and hide until they feel more confident in their surroundings. A lot of people make the mistake of handling their tort while it's adjusting (either to place it near a food dish or to give it a soak). For the most part, that will actually keep the tort from coming out of hiding for a little bit a longer.

The white excretions are actually the animal's urates, a concentrated form of urine produced by tortoises from very dry habitats. Sulcata have the same thing, as do Burmese Stars to a lesser extent. When produced by tortoises of species which normally don't produce them, it can be a sign of dehydration.