I'm not understanding the whole soak idea. I thought it was supposed to be a nice relaxing time for them to go to the bathroom and get hydrated. My tortoise hates bathes. He cant go 5 min without trying to get out. Am I doing it wrong? Any ideas.
What are you using to soak him in? how warm and high is the water? Some tortoises don't like it at first, they get use to it though. try not to hover and watch them. I notice mine get restless when i watch them. they're so cute though, its hard to leave them alone.
Is the water dirty or cold? Is there too little? The water should be luke warm and clean (if he gets a bit of dirt in or pees in the water it wont matter). The water should be up to the bridge (where the upper part and lower part,carapace and plastron, meet. lismar79 is correct... Some like it and some dont and it is very good for them. Just leave him in there for about 10-15 mins. And make sure he cant get out.
Yes the sink is in the basement in very deep so he should not be able to get out. I used fresh water so it should not be dirty and I will see if maybe I need it a little warmer. Thanks for your suggestions!
The sink itself looks like it could use a scrub, unless its stained that way and already scrubbed down. I actually put a thermometer in the water once to see what the temp was and usually high 80's seems comfortable to them. I make sure the water is high enough where their tail is submerged.
On another thread, someone said their tortoises acted stressed until they started using the bathtub. They surmised that it was the larger area. There could be something about that sink that just bothers him. Try another container just to see if it makes a difference.
I use a deep basin to soak my Russian. He relaxes when i put him in and just lays there. When the water stars to cool he starts pacing and heads for the corner of the basin. I take this as him telling me the water is too cool and i replace it with warm water again.
It is totally normal for them to scramble to try to get out. It is fine, its good exercise, and all the locomotion helps to keep the bowels moving. Just leave him in there for 20-30 minutes and make sure the water doesn't get cold.
In your pic it doesn't look like there is much water in there. I like the water to come up to about half way up their shell. At lest a third of the way up.