Shelby is not drinking!

[Tracy Gould]

I changed her water bowl to a plant pot tray as she did not have alot of room in her old one, I have placed some flat slate in a pile in there to help her climb in and out as she is still small, although she an make it out without them but i was worried she would slip. Since i change it last Saturday i have not seen her drink from the bowl, i placed her in there but she just climbs out again. I have been soaking her everyday since i noticed her avoiding it but i am not sure she drinks then as allthough she puts her mounth in she does not look like she is drinking.I have fed her a piece of cucumber as i know that as alot of water in it, and she is feed on fresh weeds and lettuce. I have not changed her diet and she seemed to drink more before the change, i am worried she is going to dehydrate and am wondering whether to put the smaller one back in, or to leave the bigger one for her to get use to it.

 

[Orpexo]

I never seen my tortoise drinking, but i only have it since one month. I think they do not drink a lot as they take a lot of water from the food and baths, exept in summer when it s really hot and dry.

How long ago you changed the bowl? You observed a lot of drinking before that?
I'm a beginner at tortoises, but I think you won't see it drinking if you feed it juicy fruits and soak it regularly ^^

 

[Tracy Gould]

I never seen my tortoise drinking, but i only have it since one month. I think they do not drink a lot as they take a lot of water from the food and baths, exept in summer when it s really hot and dry.

How long ago you changed the bowl? You observed a lot of drinking before that?
I'm a beginner at tortoises, but I think you won't see it drinking if you feed it juicy fruits and soak it regularly ^^

I changed the bowl last Saturday before that she would drink well at least once a day and always when soaking, I change her substance to coconut humus and put some moss in her hide on Monday so i am wondering now if she was drinking more because the humidity was too low.

 

[GBtortoises]

In most cases Hermann's tortoises have a very strong instinct to keep themselves well hydrated and will do so when needed as long as they have a source of clean water available that is easily accessible to them. It could be that at the moment your tortoise feels that it is hydrated enough, especially if it is also consuming foods with a high moisture content such as cucmber and lettuces.

I would not recommend to start feeding it fruits in order to get it to drink. If your tortoise is or were dehydrated fruits are one of the last things that you would want to feed it. Water is a very important part of their digestive system and the ability to dilute and expel wastes. Fruits are very high in sugar content and many contain high amounts of citric acid. Simply put, a Hermann's tortoises digestive system is not designed to process high volumes of either. So being dehydrated and not being able to flush it's system more frequently and then adding sugar on top of that can lead to digestive problems.

In most cases if your tortoise is given a clean source of water (changed daily and/or when soiled) and can easily get to it the chances are very good that it is drinking on it's own. For your own piece of mind you may want to also soak it in shallow tempid water a few times a week and observe closely while the tortoise is soaking to see if it is actually drinking.

It may also help if the top rim of the water container within the enclosure is at or slightly below ground level. It makes it easier for the tortoise to access the water and is a more natural drinking position for them.

 

[Tracy Gould]

In most cases Hermann's tortoises have a very strong instinct to keep themselves well hydrated and will do so when needed as long as they have a source of clean water available that is easily accessible to them. It could be that at the moment your tortoise feels that it is hydrated enough, especially if it is also consuming foods with a high moisture content such as cucmber and lettuces.

I would not recommend to start feeding it fruits in order to get it to drink. If your tortoise is or were dehydrated fruits are one of the last things that you would want to feed it. Water is a very important part of their digestive system and the ability to dilute and expel wastes. Fruits are very high in sugar content and many contain high amounts of citric acid. Simply put, a Hermann's tortoises digestive system is not designed to process high volumes of either. So being dehydrated and not being able to flush it's system more frequently and then adding sugar on top of that can lead to digestive problems.

In most cases if your tortoise is given a clean source of water (changed daily and/or when soiled) and can easily get to it the chances are very good that it is drinking on it's own. For your own piece of mind you may want to also soak it in shallow tempid water a few times a week and observe closely while the tortoise is soaking to see if it is actually drinking.

It may also help if the top rim of the water container within the enclosure is at or slightly below ground level. It makes it easier for the tortoise to access the water and is a more natural drinking position for them.

Is Cucumber high in sugar too? The water tray is at ground level but its about 2in deep so she as to get in to drink from it as i only fill to a safe depth. I think i am going to look for a more shallow one for her. I have been soaking her dayly since i noticed her avoiding going in the bowl but i am not hundred per sure she is taking water.

 

[Paige Lewis]

In my opinion i wouldn't worry to much about her drinking if she does have an easily accessible dish of water, i soak my 13 month old every day and i never see him drink while he is bathing and if i place him in his dish he will just walk straight out but sometimes when i just happen to be in the room where he is kept at just the right time i will catch him in his bowl drinking, i think with some torts just like mine, they won't drink when placed in water due to the distraction of being interfered with but that does not mean that they aren't drinking, you just might not be around when they do.

 

[Tom]

Terra cotta plant saucers from the hardware store are just the right size, shape and depth for most torts. And they give great traction too. And they are really cheap. I buy mine at Lowes. And they come in a wide variety of sizes for different size torts. I buy a few at a time of each size so I can swap them out or use a bigger one as they grow. Its also nice to have extras around in case you drop one, not that I know anything about that... Another reason I like them is, when you do swap one out for a larger size, it still pretty much looks and feels the same to the young tortoise. My baby sulcatas are on their third size now.

 

[Tracy Gould]

In my opinion i wouldn't worry to much about her drinking if she does have an easily accessible dish of water, i soak my 13 month old every day and i never see him drink while he is bathing and if i place him in his dish he will just walk straight out but sometimes when i just happen to be in the room where he is kept at just the right time i will catch him in his bowl drinking, i think with some torts just like mine, they won't drink when placed in water due to the distraction of being interfered with but that does not mean that they aren't drinking, you just might not be around when they do.

Ok i am proberly just a worry wart lol, when she had the small dish i would see her drinking all the time and she could do this without geting into the water but with this dish being abit deeper and her having to sit in the water to drink i was worried she was avoiding it, i may put the smaller dish back in tomorrow and place it in a different area to the bigger one that way she can drink from that without getting wet and still get in the other if she wishs to soak herself.

 

[Tracy Gould]

Well the little monkey is punished me for posting this today! I have had to clean her water 5 times so far and its mucky again she watches me take it out and put clean water in then she gets in and drags muck in with her paddles around then climbs out again as soon as i clean it she gets back in, I gave her a quick bath to get ride of the muck then put her in clean water for a soak before she started doing this. It as though she knows i was worried so she is proving she likes the new tray lol

 

[j156ghs]

I changed her water bowl to a plant pot tray as she did not have alot of room in her old one ...

What do you mean by a plant pot tray? Is it one of those fired and baked, orange types? Some are known to leach chemicals into the water and maybe that's what your tortoise is sensing. Just a guess. I don't use the clay variety. There are some nice water dishes, with graduated depths, on the market; while one may cost $8-10, you have the reassurance that the dish will not cause chemical leaching. After all, the water is just sitting there, in contact with a surface that should be sealed, and not with a varnish or paint, to maintain high water quality. My Hermann's drinks on a daily basis usually. He may not enter the water dish, but he'll clean his snout and then I see his neck muscle contracting and relaxing as he swallows water.

 

[Tracy Gould]

I changed her water bowl to a plant pot tray as she did not have alot of room in her old one ...

What do you mean by a plant pot tray? Is it one of those fired and baked, orange types? Some are known to leach chemicals into the water and maybe that's what your tortoise is sensing. Just a guess. I don't use the clay variety. There are some nice water dishes, with graduated depths, on the market; while one may cost $8-10, you have the reassurance that the dish will not cause chemical leaching. After all, the water is just sitting there, in contact with a surface that should be sealed, and not with a varnish or paint, to maintain high water quality. My Hermann's drinks on a daily basis usually. He may not enter the water dish, but he'll clean his snout and then I see his neck muscle contracting and relaxing as he swallows water.

Its plastic but she as startd going in it now, I think she was just sulking because of the change i can not keep the water clean now because as soon as i have changed it she goes in agian lol