How Many Soaks?

[WithLisa]

@WithLisa can you explain this comment please. The only thing I can think of is they lose more fluid through urinating than they absorb through the soak. What species do you have?

That's exactly what I meant. They are stressed and don't drink but urinate and have loose stool. I doubt they can absorb as much water just over the skin as they loose during that soak. I have Hermanns.

 

[Linhdan Nguyen]

I could say this does happen. When my Max had parasites, i soaked him daily but i saw that once it was becoming a daily thing and he was still new to me, he did not drink but seems more interested in getting out.

 

[Big Charlie]

I hope you don't mind me hijacking your thread, Gillian. I'm curious as to if there is a difference in the amount of hydration they get from a soak versus a drink. Also, do they absorb any water through their shell or only through their skin? I mean, does it do any good to spray the shell from the top?

Charlie is too big for me to pick up, so I spray him down with a hose and provide drinking water. I just dug him a mud puddle but he doesn't seem interested. My summers are similar to Speedy-1 - hot and dry. We're in the same heat wave.

 

[Linhdan Nguyen]

I would assume there is a alight difference, only cause of the belief that a tortoise also absorbs some water through its skin as well as drinking. But my tortoises rarely wver use their water bowl. Ive seen them have a brief drink once since ive had them for 4 months. I see them drinking during a soak though. But even that isnt all that long.

 

[Linhdan Nguyen]

Slight*

 

[Gillian M]

I hope you don't mind me hijacking your thread, Gillian. I'm curious as to if there is a difference in the amount of hydration they get from a soak versus a drink. Also, do they absorb any water through their shell or only through their skin? I mean, does it do any good to spray the shell from the top?

Charlie is too big for me to pick up, so I spray him down with a hose and provide drinking water. I just dug him a mud puddle but he doesn't seem interested. My summers are similar to Speedy-1 - hot and dry. We're in the same heat wave.

Hi. Is Big Charlie all that big? I'd love to see a pic of him if you don't mind of course. What species is he?

There's a heat wave here too, so I keep soaking Oli every now and again. Pearly was kind enough to tell me it wouldn't harm a tort, plus it does not seem to be bothering Oli.

(Of course I do not mind your having hijacked my thread).

 

[Pearly]

I guess it depends on the tort. I never soak mine because it dehydrates them even more.
But in a correct environment they don't mind such temperatures anyway. They often prefer to stay in their extremely hot cold frame and hide under plants than go outside on warm days.

Very interesting... You know, I myself used to have that worry when at the very beginning used small container for their bath. They were freaking out the whole time and pee'd/poo'ed profusely to the point of diarrhea consistency stools. I always see them come to their water dish, stick their head in water and drink for a while. Sometimes they'd just come and sit in their water dish. But I never saw them drink during those baths (in their first smal bath container) and was seriously worried about the whole rationale of the whole thing. It just didn't make sense to me. Then one day someone on here had posted bath picture of the baby tort in human bath tub... the light bulb went off in my head! My daughter and I tried to put our babies in our spare bathtub... And... Bingo! This was the charm for us! Our babies just chill the whole time. They often march into the deeper end of it them selves and explore buoyancy of their movements. I can always count on a good pee (can tell when they do it, it looks cloudy and billowing into the water) and good size poo. I like the predictability of their toileting habits. Anyway, Gillian my "soaking advise" to you is based on my more recent soaking experience. Back when our baby torts seemed so stressed by it, my advise to you would have sounded very different

 

[Gillian M]

Very interesting... You know, I myself used to have that worry when at the very beginning used small container for their bath. They were freaking out the whole time and pee'd/poo'ed profusely to the point of diarrhea consistency stools. I always see them come to their water dish, stick their head in water and drink for a while. Sometimes they'd just come and sit in their water dish. But I never saw them drink during those baths (in their first smal bath container) and was seriously worried about the whole rationale of the whole thing. It just didn't make sense to me. Then one day someone on here had posted bath picture of the baby tort in human bath tub... the light bulb went off in my head! My daughter and I tried to put our babies in our spare bathtub... And... Bingo! This was the charm for us! Our babies just chill the whole time. They often march into the deeper end of it them selves and explore buoyancy of their movements. I can always count on a good pee (can tell when they do it, it looks cloudy and billowing into the water) and good size poo. I like the predictability of their toileting habits. Anyway, Gillian my "soaking advise" to you is based on my more recent soaking experience. Back when our baby torts seemed so stressed by it, my advise to you would have sounded very different

Thanks Pearly! Oli does not get irritated by soaks so long as the water is nice and warm, which is normal.

Today I have given him FOUR soaks so far due to extremely high temperature: 35 degrees C, and yet another rise is expected tomorrow. I.E: a lovely heat wave.

 

[Pearly]

Very interesting... You know, I myself used to have that worry when at the very beginning used small container for their bath. They were freaking out the whole time and pee'd/poo'ed profusely to the point of diarrhea consistency stools. I always see them come to their water dish, stick their head in water and drink for a while. Sometimes they'd just come and sit in their water dish. But I never saw them drink during those baths (in their first smal bath container) and was seriously worried about the whole rationale of the whole thing. It just didn't make sense to me. Then one day someone on here had posted bath picture of the baby tort in human bath tub... the light bulb went off in my head! My daughter and I tried to put our babies in our spare bathtub... And... Bingo! This was the charm for us! Our babies just chill the whole time. They often march into the deeper end of it them selves and explore buoyancy of their movements. I can always count on a good pee (can tell when they do it, it looks cloudy and billowing into the water) and good size poo. I like the predictability of their toileting habits. Anyway, Gillian my "soaking advise" to you is based on my more recent soaking experience. Back when our baby torts seemed so stressed by it, my advise to you would have sounded very different

i often put couple of sprigs of parsley or leaves of Raddicchio in the shallow end and they actually are chill enough to come munch a bit then go/float back to the deeper side where they just sprawl their limbs out and just sit. It's cool to watch them exploring walking in deeper water, feeling the resistance of water and at this same time the ease of making certain movements.

 

[Pearly]

Thanks Pearly! Oli does not get irritated by soaks so long as the water is nice and warm, which is normal.

Today I have given him FOUR soaks so far due to extremely high temperature: 35 degrees C, and yet another rise is expected tomorrow. I.E: a lovely heat wave.

I know all too well about heat. We live in the US Sunbelt (warm climate) This year has been exceptionally cool/wet with the El Niño weather pattern. Years before that we had La Niña that kept us very hot and very dry for several years.

 

[Gillian M]

View attachment 176186 i often put couple of sprigs of parsley or leaves of Raddicchio in the shallow end and they actually are chill enough to come munch a bit then go/float back to the deeper side where they just sprawl their limbs out and just sit. It's cool to watch them exploring walking in deeper water, feeling the resistance of water and at this same time the ease of making certain movements.

So cute, they really are! No bullying whilst being soaked? Hope not.

 

[Gillian M]

I know all too well about heat. We live in the US Sunbelt (warm climate) This year has been exceptionally cool/wet with the El Niño weather pattern. Years before that we had La Niña that kept us very hot and very dry for several years.

This takes place here in the Middle East in general, each and every year. It's the rule and not the exception.

 

[Pearly]

So cute, they really are! No bullying whilst being soaked? Hope not.

Nope! No signs of aggression, but they always have PLENTY of food, easy access to fresh water, plenty of places to hide, get plenty of exercise outside... Still, I am prepared to separate them at any time if needed

 

[WithLisa]

Very interesting... You know, I myself used to have that worry when at the very beginning used small container for their bath. They were freaking out the whole time and pee'd/poo'ed profusely to the point of diarrhea consistency stools. I always see them come to their water dish, stick their head in water and drink for a while. Sometimes they'd just come and sit in their water dish. But I never saw them drink during those baths (in their first smal bath container) and was seriously worried about the whole rationale of the whole thing. It just didn't make sense to me. Then one day someone on here had posted bath picture of the baby tort in human bath tub... the light bulb went off in my head! My daughter and I tried to put our babies in our spare bathtub... And... Bingo! This was the charm for us! Our babies just chill the whole time. They often march into the deeper end of it them selves and explore buoyancy of their movements. I can always count on a good pee (can tell when they do it, it looks cloudy and billowing into the water) and good size poo. I like the predictability of their toileting habits. Anyway, Gillian my "soaking advise" to you is based on my more recent soaking experience. Back when our baby torts seemed so stressed by it, my advise to you would have sounded very different

I'll try it with a large container next time (I don't soak, but wash them every few weeks when I have to take pictures or to check the shell under the layer of loamy soil ). But I doubt it will help much, they're always scared when I pick them up and remove them from their familiar enclosure, no matter if I put them in the bath, on the lawn or wherever.
I guess over time they could get used to being handled, but I don't see any reason to force them since they look very healthy and smooth enough without any soaks. They'll slowly become more relaxed as they grow older anyway.

 

[Big Charlie]

Hi. Is Big Charlie all that big? I'd love to see a pic of him if you don't mind of course. What species is he?

There's a heat wave here too, so I keep soaking Oli every now and again. Pearly was kind enough to tell me it wouldn't harm a tort, plus it does not seem to be bothering Oli.

(Of course I do not mind your having hijacked my thread).

Hi Gillian,
Charlie is around 100 pounds. He is a sulcata. I haven't taken any pictures of him in quite awhile. Here's a picture of him I took last year with an apple.

 

[Gillian M]

Hi Gillian,
Charlie is around 100 pounds. He is a sulcata. I haven't taken any pictures of him in quite awhile. Here's a picture of him I took last year with an apple. View attachment 176345

Hi. No wonder you mentioned you could not pick him up. Really big and good looking. Love the pic you chose, with Big Charlie munching an apple, that looks yummy.

Thanks for sharing the post.

 

[Fredkas]

Very interesting... You know, I myself used to have that worry when at the very beginning used small container for their bath. They were freaking out the whole time and pee'd/poo'ed profusely to the point of diarrhea consistency stools. I always see them come to their water dish, stick their head in water and drink for a while. Sometimes they'd just come and sit in their water dish. But I never saw them drink during those baths (in their first smal bath container) and was seriously worried about the whole rationale of the whole thing. It just didn't make sense to me. Then one day someone on here had posted bath picture of the baby tort in human bath tub... the light bulb went off in my head! My daughter and I tried to put our babies in our spare bathtub... And... Bingo! This was the charm for us! Our babies just chill the whole time. They often march into the deeper end of it them selves and explore buoyancy of their movements. I can always count on a good pee (can tell when they do it, it looks cloudy and billowing into the water) and good size poo. I like the predictability of their toileting habits. Anyway, Gillian my "soaking advise" to you is based on my more recent soaking experience. Back when our baby torts seemed so stressed by it, my advise to you would have sounded very different

Pearly, can i ask you a favor? I like to see the pee. Can you post it? I want to know how it looks like. Words sometimes hard to imagine. Mine peeing urates and highly consider as healthy from other members here. I just researching this pee thing recently. Lol.. *weirdo . And i think we can know better what is the hydration level of our tort by looking at the pee.
Btw this is the link of Toro pee i asked for advice.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...-old-sulcata-through-pee.142238/#post-1331051
"Bath freaking" actually make sense after read your story.

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

Pearly, can i ask you a favor? I like to see the pee. Can you post it? I want to know how it looks like. Words sometimes hard to imagine. Mine peeing urates and highly consider as healthy from other members here. I just researching this pee thing recently. Lol.. *weirdo . And i think we can know better what is the hydration level of our tort by looking at the pee.
Btw this is the link of Toro pee i asked for advice.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...-old-sulcata-through-pee.142238/#post-1331051
"Bath freaking" actually make sense after read your story.

Pearly keeps redfoots - they aren't a urate producing species so they won't have pee that looks like your Toro. You'll need to ask sulcata keepers for photos of urates if you want to see what you should expect.

 

[Fredkas]

Pearly keeps redfoots - they aren't a urate producing species so they won't have pee that looks like your Toro. You'll need to ask sulcata keepers for photos of urates if you want to see what you should expect.

Ahhhh... . Thank you for enlighten me. Poor me, i thought all tortoise make urates lol.

 

[Pearly]

Thanks Pearly! Oli does not get irritated by soaks so long as the water is nice and warm, which is normal.

Today I have given him FOUR soaks so far due to extremely high temperature: 35 degrees C, and yet another rise is expected tomorrow. I.E: a lovely heat wave.

I always remind my daughter to fill the bottom of the bath tub and let it sit for few minutes to get the temps adjusted. Once the tub itself is warm then the soak water stays warm longer. Still we have our temp gun there to check the babies carapace and water temps. When water starts cooling off we drain some and replace it with warmer one.