ivory/albino??

[Ozric Jonathan]

Fantapants, that's a stunning outfit someone is wearing in your avatar....

[anna m]

Yes I agree very stunning outfit. good point you made too about UVA/UVB light might affect albino tortoise. Wonder if it would?

[fantapants]

thanks for the comments on my avatar. i had no ideait would be so contraversial! i have had quite a few PMs and emails about it on several forums. it was made specialy for me by a very good friend of mine, he is very talented isnt he !? anyway, back on topic......


this is a link to some pics on another foum. if i am not allowed a direct link could somebody please copy and save the pics to this thread please. As i said earlier, there can be issues with UVB, but as its been proven that torts can live with D3 supplemantation instead of having UVB. so that would reduce the risk of sun damage etc.

Ed. do i remember you saying that you once hatched 3 or 4 egyptian albinos?? or did i just make that up in my head?

[EJ]

yea... you didn't know it would be controversial.

Yup...

... one of my greatest heartbreakers. If I had the diet I use now back then... they'd still be alive.

Originally Posted by fantapants

thanks for the comments on my avatar. i had no ideait would be so contraversial! i have had quite a few PMs and emails about it on several forums. it was made specialy for me by a very good friend of mine, he is very talented isnt he !? anyway, back on topic......


this is a link to some pics on another foum. if i am not allowed a direct link could somebody please copy and save the pics to this thread please. As i said earlier, there can be issues with UVB, but as its been proven that torts can live with D3 supplemantation instead of having UVB. so that would reduce the risk of sun damage etc.

Ed. do i remember you saying that you once hatched 3 or 4 egyptian albinos?? or did i just make that up in my head?

[beckyzazou]

They are stunning

[EJ]

They were stunning.

Originally Posted by beckyzazou

They are stunning

[Paulg1]

The loss of any pet is heartbreaking. To loose something unique like that, wow. Sorry Ed.

[CJ]

Hi Ed, I hope i'm not being insensitive, but just wondered why they
died as you mentioned their diet?

[EJ]

Not a problem at all...

Over the years I've found that you have to be very careful with a plant based diet with some tortoises... specificly desert type tortoises because of the formation of insoluable salts. The most common problem salt being calcium oxalate although i'm sure there are others. These are seen as 'urates'. If they become excessive they can shut down the kidneys. This is one reason hydration is so important. You not only have to be very careful in the plants you select. You also have to be very careful that the tortoise is not selecting specific plants offered.

I've found that in the first year it is critical to get the balance just right. Unfortunately... I discovered this too late in many cases.

Star and Egyptians were the most delicate where this was concerned.

When I started using Mazuri I first noticed an extreme drop in the production of solid urates. Currently... I use nothing but Mazuri. With this the only thing I have to worry about is hydration.

To answer your question... they all died of renal failure /sepsis.

Originally Posted by CJ

Hi Ed, I hope i'm not being insensitive, but just wondered why they
died as you mentioned their diet?

[CJ]

Originally Posted by EJ

Not a problem at all...

Over the years I've found that you have to be very careful with a plant based diet with some tortoises... specificly desert type tortoises because of the formation of insoluable salts. The most common problem salt being calcium oxalate although i'm sure there are others. These are seen as 'urates'. If they become excessive they can shut down the kidneys. This is one reason hydration is so important. You not only have to be very careful in the plants you select. You also have to be very careful that the tortoise is not selecting specific plants offered.

I've found that in the first year it is critical to get the balance just right. Unfortunately... I discovered this too late in many cases.

Star and Egyptians were the most delicate where this was concerned.

When I started using Mazuri I first noticed an extreme drop in the production of solid urates. Currently... I use nothing but Mazuri. With this the only thing I have to worry about is hydration.

To answer your question... they all died of renal failure /sepsis.

Hi Ed
Thanks for replying and explaining. It makes you realise quite how
important a balanced diet is, especially with hatchlings. Would the
renal failure have been caused by kidney stones? I'm going to google
calcium oxalate now, to see which plants contain it. Thanks again for
explaining.