Two Soak Questions

[digibond]

Hi - I've got a 1.5lb Sulcata that I've soaking daily because I didn't have his set up right. Now that he has the right environment for day and night. I have two questions on soaking. (BTW I looked at the soak posts and understand the frequency issue)

1. How will I know if he is dehydrated? What are the signs?

2. Has anyone found an elegant solution to keep the soak temp at 85 degrees? Somethings besides emptying and adding water once or twice?

I'm a bit worried about the dehydration if I stop the daily soak because I've never seen him go in the water in his field. He leaves it almost immediately when I put him in their even when the sun has made the water the right temp. The breeder didn't soak him much after the early months, but always had soaking trays they could self select, so it may be he has no need for water since I've been soaking him daily.

Thanks

 

[Tom]

Hi - I've got a 1.5lb Sulcata that I've soaking daily because I didn't have his set up right. Now that he has the right environment for day and night. I have two questions on soaking. (BTW I looked at the soak posts and understand the frequency issue)

1. How will I know if he is dehydrated? What are the signs?

2. Has anyone found an elegant solution to keep the soak temp at 85 degrees? Somethings besides emptying and adding water once or twice?

I'm a bit worried about the dehydration if I stop the daily soak because I've never seen him go in the water in his field. He leaves it almost immediately when I put him in their even when the sun has made the water the right temp. The breeder didn't soak him much after the early months, but always had soaking trays they could self select, so it may be he has no need for water since I've been soaking him daily.

Thanks

1. Dry skin, withered look, sunken eyes, hard poops, constipation, no urine, frequent urates, hard gritty urates, stone formation, lack of growth.

2. Do the soak in a warm area. Inside the closed chamber enclosure works for most people. I do it in my heated reptile room. With great caution and vigilant supervision, you can do it partially in the sun. Find an area that is moving into the shade during the course of the day as the sun moves. Start the tub half in the sun, and as the sun moves, you'll have to keep pushing the tub out of the shade and more into the sun depending on temperature. This way, if you get distracted and forget, the tortoise will end up in full shade and a little too cool, rather than in full sun and cooked.

At 680 grams it is no longer necessary to soak daily. Especially so in a mild warm humid climate like yours. You are correct that a tortoise that is soaked daily and fed a good diet, has no need to drink from a water source. They are already hydrated. As you begin skipping soaking days, the tortoise will eventually learn to and desire to drink from its water sources outside.