ChiKat said:I believe that is false. I'm pretty sure the reason people soak them in water is to encourage them to drink. They don't actually absorb the water.
I have never seen Nelson drink while being soaked!
Isa said:Have you tried soaking Nelson first thing in the morning. When I put Hermy in his water dish the morning, he loves that. He stays for like 10 minutes (he can walk out of the dish if he wants to) and he drinks water.
emysemys said:They DO absorb a bit of liquid through the thin skin under their throat and around the cloaca. Contrary to popular belief, they DO NOT drink through the cloaca, but rather absorb liquid through the thin skin surrounding the cloaca.
ChiKat said:The problem with a tortoise that hates being soaked is you can easily stress them out I'm lucky in that Nelson actually seems to enjoy his soaks the majority of the time.
But if he does try to climb out of the little bowl I soak him in, I let him out.
He drinks water from his water dish regularly though, so I guess he's unique in that way. He's very different from other Russians I've read about, in many ways!
Madkins007 said:The Irish Vet. Journal article listed says that they ABSORB through the cloaca, not DRINK that way.