Mazuri in soak?

[franeich]

Is it ok to put the Mazuri in the bath with my sulcata? When I do this he stays in the bath much longer and eats the Mazuri and drinks. Without the Mazuri he just tries to climb out the whole time.

 

[Kayti]

Is it ok to put the Mazuri in the bath with my sulcata? When I do this he stays in the bath much longer and eats the Mazuri and drinks. Without the Mazuri he just tries to climb out the whole time.

You might want to try switching to a bath container with higher sides so he cannot see out, or get out on his own. Soaking is really important, even though most torts despise it. I've found that mine have started to like it, which might be due to the warmer water I've been using, or they've just resigned themselves to it
That said, I know a lot of people soak their Mazuri, so the added water shouldn't be a problem. The only potential issue I see is you just would just want to make sure he doesn't defecate in the water, and then eat it.

 

[franeich]

The only potential issue I see is you just would just want to make sure he doesn't defecate in the water, and then eat it.

This is one thing I dont understand. I have on a number of occasions seen my sulcata eat his own poop. Therefore what is the risk of him drinking the water if he poops in it?

 

[Kayti]

The only potential issue I see is you just would just want to make sure he doesn't defecate in the water, and then eat it.

This is one thing I dont understand. I have on a number of occasions seen my sulcata eat his own poop. Therefore what is the risk of him drinking the water if he poops in it?

I've seen mine do that too, and I am sure it is harmless. I'm sure drinking pee is harmless too, just... sort of gross, I guess? I would wait for someone more experienced than I to confirm though.

 

[Isa]

What I do is put Hermy in a bath when he wakes up He loves that and he stays for maybe 15 minutes.

 

[terryo]

I never soaked mine at all....but...Some breeders actually recommend letting them eat their poop. I wouldn't worry about poop in the water....Maybe he will poop after he eats the mazuri.

 

[Sulcatatortoiseman]

if he poops and the water gets in his eyes his eyes might get infected.

 

[tortoisenerd]

Yes, it is ok and natural for your tort to eat its own poop. However, if my tort would poop in a soak I would switch out the water as that is natural for me to do. I would not want to put food in soaking water as the tort typically will pee in it. Although this is ok, I wouldn't want to encourage it. Eating in the water is more of a turtle behavior. I think you should work on ways of calming the tort during soakings, making them shorter, checking you have an appropriate container (not clear)/water depth/water temperature, and seeing if your tort uses the water in its enclosure on its own. If you see your tort using the water in an enclosure it is of my opinion you do not need to soak. Because of this, a proper water dish in an enclosure is important, as is the placement due to accessibility and temperature. I never saw my tort use the water until I got a step bowl (after trying about 6 others) and placed it closer to the light so it was warmer. Our current soaking routine is if he looks dry I will fill up his enclosure water dish with warm water and place him in it. Many times he will stay, but if he wants out he can go about his day. Yes, for many torts soaking is stressful for them and they will want to escape. Many opinions on the subject.