Soaking tortoise

[Tort_nube]

hello I am a soon to be new owner of a sulcata hatchling who I've read dehydrate very easily. I've read websites saying to soak turtle three times a week for 15 min and I've read sites that say to soak tortoise everyday for 15 min. Which is it? I want to also prevent as much stress as possible so please help!

 

[Greg T]

Welcome! I wouldn't say they dehydrate very easily, but like any living animal they need sufficient water. With hatchlings, they may not drink as often as needed, so soaking daily, or every other day, is a great way to give them an opportunity to drink. As they get older (months and years), you can reduce the soakings, once you have it outside, you can probably stop soaking as long as it knows where water is and it is always available. I keep two water trays in the yard for my adult leopards and they will go drink from them daily. While yours is young, watch and see if it knows where the water bowl is in the enclosure and once you see it drinking on its own from the bowl, just make sure it has water and the baby should be good.

 

[WillTort2]

Many of the keepers on this forum advise both a warm and humid closed enclosure and soaking twice a day to give them the best start. See some of Tom's threads for examples.

Good luck.