Ok not to soak?

mini_max

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I have a healthy Russian tortoise who is somewhere between 1 and 2 years old. He has always been soaked. Right now it's usually a few times a week. We are about to go on holidays and will be gone for 9 days. Could he go this long without a soak without it causing him much harm or stress? He'll be fed, water changed etc. daily.

Also, he is currently living outside. We are debating whether or not to put him back inside when we are gone. If there was a big storm with hail etc., would he head to his hide pretty quick? Would he sense it coming and take shelter before? We really haven't had any bad weather yet since he's been living out there, so I don't know what to expect.
 

ZEROPILOT

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I've never really kept a schedule on soaking and I'm thinking that 9 days will do no harm. As for the leaving him outside, I can not comment. I'm sure that your climate and situations are far different than my own.
 

ascott

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I have a healthy Russian tortoise who is somewhere between 1 and 2 years old. He has always been soaked. Right now it's usually a few times a week. We are about to go on holidays and will be gone for 9 days. Could he go this long without a soak without it causing him much harm or stress? He'll be fed, water changed etc. daily.

Also, he is currently living outside. We are debating whether or not to put him back inside when we are gone. If there was a big storm with hail etc., would he head to his hide pretty quick? Would he sense it coming and take shelter before? We really haven't had any bad weather yet since he's been living out there, so I don't know what to expect.[/quo
Is the person caring for him relatively close
I have a healthy Russian tortoise who is somewhere between 1 and 2 years old. He has always been soaked. Right now it's usually a few times a week. We are about to go on holidays and will be gone for 9 days. Could he go this long without a soak without it causing him much harm or stress? He'll be fed, water changed etc. daily.

Also, he is currently living outside. We are debating whether or not to put him back inside when we are gone. If there was a big storm with hail etc., would he head to his hide pretty quick? Would he sense it coming and take shelter before? We really haven't had any bad weather yet since he's been living out there, so I don't know what to expect.


Not soaking while you are away should be fine...especially since water is available. Leaving the tort out while you are gone would depend on how secure the enclosure is as well as what predators would come around since you will not havecthe same human activity going on in yor absence.
 

Greg T

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He is plenty old enough to go without soaks for a while. Just make sure he has water to drink.
 

mini_max

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image.jpg image.jpg

Predator proof...or so I think. Chicken wired, burried borders and mesh lids. Temps will be 50s at worst one night, more like 60s for the rest. And looks like one day in the 70s, the rest 80s to 90s. I just don't know what he will do in a storm as I haven't seen it yet.
 

mini_max

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Nice...And simple.
Well done!
I like the shady jungle area. Is there a house or a hide area?
Thanks!
Yes, that dry grassy hump is a bunch of old dirt and sod with a plastic igloo type rodent hide dug into it. We've sloped the entry ramp so that rain can't flow in. Once inside he further burries himself under a corner of old sod and is Reeeeaaaaaallllly hard to get out!
 

Blakem

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I've left my Russian out when it's been the 60s at night. they would be okay in the high 50s, but I don't like to do that.
 

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