Yes, the thread you've linked here is the one I read when I first joined the Forum 2 yrs (and some..) ago. I think that "to oil, or not to oil" is a personal choice, and we as keepers/pet owners in the end do what works for us and out pets. I personally DO use EV coconut oil on my RFs, but they are still very young (2 yrs &2 months) so I still keep them indoors at night and bathe them (almost daily!) in my guest bathroom tub. I've been doing this since they were tiny 2" hatchlings. Amongst the benefits is the ease of interacting with them (they are completely tame and seem to enjoy being handled), they have NEVER had any problems with shell rot despite being kept in 90 and over 90% humid closed system. Their skin and scales to head, limbs and tail are in perfect condition, and... they look pretty. I completely understand and respect the argument "let them be tortoises and get dirty" and I respect that as well. And I will likely join that "no oil crowd" once my babies are fully grown and living in my Tortoise Garden full time. They will be too big for me to drag them upstairs to that guest bathtub. The mess from a 13" tort is likely a lot bigger then from little youngsters. Plus handling little poop, netting it out of the tub (I know! gross!!!!) is likely not as bad as trying to remove a small "pyramid" in order to preserve the house plumbing. Once mine are bigger and living full time outside I think their wading pools and water hose will be utilized most as their bathing tools, and maybe once a year coco oil rubdown to shine those shells on their hatch day, so I can post pretty pics here
All that said, I'm am all for rubbing them down with some coco oil while examining their body under good light, while excess is wiped off with soft absorbent cloth and care is taken not to let any of the oil into their eyes but my way, is NOT the only way. This is just what I DO and I like it this way. My torts seem to enjoy it and I assume there are no any untoward effects judging by how active and strong my torts are and how good their appetite and growth rate are. Again, that's just me. No scientific data here, just common sense and observation with my naked eye plus info gathered from this Forum.
Couldn't agree more! Let's keep this Forum a friendly and non confrontational place that it's been. Of course there is nothing better than a good argument in a healthy discourse, but let's try to keep emotions out of it and be respectful of the opinions of other people.
Yes, the thread you've linked here is the one I read when I first joined the Forum 2 yrs (and some..) ago. I think that "to oil, or not to oil" is a personal choice, and we as keepers/pet owners in the end do what works for us and out pets. I personally DO use EV coconut oil on my RFs, but they are still very young (2 yrs &2 months) so I still keep them indoors at night and bathe them (almost daily!) in my guest bathroom tub. I've been doing this since they were tiny 2" hatchlings. Amongst the benefits is the ease of interacting with them (they are completely tame and seem to enjoy being handled), they have NEVER had any problems with shell rot despite being kept in 90 and over 90% humid closed system. Their skin and scales to head, limbs and tail are in perfect condition, and... they look pretty. I completely understand and respect the argument "let them be tortoises and get dirty" and I respect that as well. And I will likely join that "no oil crowd" once my babies are fully grown and living in my Tortoise Garden full time. They will be too big for me to drag them upstairs to that guest bathtub. The mess from a 13" tort is likely a lot bigger then from little youngsters. Plus handling little poop, netting it out of the tub (I know! gross!!!!) is likely not as bad as trying to remove a small "pyramid" in order to preserve the house plumbing. Once mine are bigger and living full time outside I think their wading pools and water hose will be utilized most as their bathing tools, and maybe once a year coco oil rubdown to shine those shells on their hatch day, so I can post pretty pics here
Yes, just did after posting. I love that thread. I love reading about all the science behind tort keeping and try to not miss Mark's posts as he always puts lots of interesting info, and great pictures. You have some nice visuals too btw. There are so many interesting discussions on this Forum, posts by some brilliant minds who unselfishly share their know-how with all of us. That is why I love this forum so much.
That could be mineral deposits from the water. Harmless.
