Bathing

[Rosiee]

I've heard your supposed to bath a young tortoise every few days, but i tried bathing mine yesterday and he didnt like the process to much and kept climbing out the tub and plodding away. Any tips?

 

[Redfoot NERD]

Just provide a water-dish chin deep.. and they'll figure it out for themselves. Of course there are those that insist that "forced-soaking" is good for them........... as it scares the poop out of them!

You decide!

 

[Yvonne G]

I've heard your supposed to bath a young tortoise every few days, but i tried bathing mine yesterday and he didnt like the process to much and kept climbing out the tub and plodding away. Any tips?

I really depends upon the type of tortoise. Because a redfoot is kept in a moist environment, a water dish in the enclosure is probably all you need. If you are keeping a desert-type tortoise...a sulcata, leopard, etc. you have them in an environment that I like to call "slow-cook". In this case, if you have a hatchling to 1 year old, I would put them into a small container with tall sides so he can't climb out, put the tepid water up to the "bridge", the area of the tortoise's shell where the top meets the bottom, and leave him there for at least 15 minutes two or three times a week. They don't always know what is good for them, and some are afraid of the water. But they get used to it after a few times. Russians seem particularly afraid of being put into a tub of water. One good way to settle in your own mind if your baby needs to be soaked is to not soak him for a week or so, then weigh him and note down the weight. Then soak him for 15 or 20 minutes and weigh him again. You will notice a significant weight gain. That means he is not drinking enough out of the water dish.

After they reach a year, their body mass is larger and they can maintain their hydration better than a smaller body, so you don't need to soak them as often if at all.

Yvonne

 

[Redfoot NERD]

See.... I told you there are still those...