Soaking a Tortoise

[PoseidonSB]

Hi All,

I'm a new Tortoise owner and from reading this forum an gathering a lot of useful information.
However I keep seeing about soaking the tortoise, can someone explain what that involves and why it needs to be done. Also how deep or shallow does the water bowl need to be in the enclosure.

Thanks in advance

Stephen

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Stephen:

Because we have to keep baby tortoises warm, we have them on "slow cook." And because they are so small, they dehydrate quickly...sometimes in just hours. So we recommend a forced soak at least once a day for 15 or 20 minutes.

This means you take a bowl or small tub that the tortoise can't get out of (a small floor space, but tall sides) and add warm water. You want the water to come up to the middle of the tortoise's sides, where the top meets the bottom. This is called the bridge. You leave the baby in the water, even though sometimes it looks like he's not very happy in there, for about 15 minutes. Contrary to popular opinion, a baby doesn't need to actually drink the water to benefit from it.

 

[PoseidonSB]

Hi Stephen:

Because we have to keep baby tortoises warm, we have them on "slow cook." And because they are so small, they dehydrate quickly...sometimes in just hours. So we recommend a forced soak at least once a day for 15 or 20 minutes.

This means you take a bowl or small tub that the tortoise can't get out of (a small floor space, but tall sides) and add warm water. You want the water to come up to the middle of the tortoise's sides, where the top meets the bottom. This is called the bridge. You leave the baby in the water, even though sometimes it looks like he's not very happy in there, for about 15 minutes. Contrary to popular opinion, a baby doesn't need to actually drink the water to benefit from it.

Thank you for the information learning something new everyday lol

 

[gieseygirly]

"even though sometimes it looks like he's not very happy in there"

This totally describes my leopard tort - he acts like he hates his soaks, but I give them to him regardless. Contrary to that, my Russian loves his soaks - he'll just lay in there and close his eyes and fully enjoy the water.

 

[Tom]

"even though sometimes it looks like he's not very happy in there"

This totally describes my leopard tort - he acts like he hates his soaks, but I give them to him regardless. Contrary to that, my Russian loves his soaks - he'll just lay in there and close his eyes and fully enjoy the water.

Try warmer or cooler water for your leopard. Or try shallower or deeper. Or try morning soaks before he warms up fully, or late evening. If none of these things work, don't worry about it, and he'll get used to it in time.

 

[BeeBee*BeeLeaves]

And always very helpful is a temperature gun. One of our members Moozillion pointed that out and she is right on. Sometimes we do not know if it is too hot or too cool. A temperature gun is pretty vital for all tortoise keepers. I got a great deal at Harbor Freight on Black Friday (19.83 for a 59.99 gun). Anyways, here is the link, a good read:

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-83628.html

And yes, soaks are awesome for our little treasures! No bake-y da baby! : )