# Purpose of soaking



## Eredant (Oct 24, 2018)

I just read this post by @Tom about soaking, which made me wonder what exactly is the purpose is of the daily soaking of hatchlings, especially when they're kept in a humid environment with a water dish. I did a quick search of the forum posts and while there are many about soaking, couldn't find any posts explaining the reasoning behind it. 

I soak them daily until they reach 100 grams. At that point I start skipping a day now and then. By 1000 grams 2 or 3 times a week should be enough for most situations.​ 
I used to think that it helped prevent pyramiding, but then I'm a little surprised that @Tom would suggest decreasing the frequency as early as 100g.


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## Yvonne G (Oct 24, 2018)

There are two schools of thought - soak daily and don't soak, but provide a water dish. Members here use both methods and have equal success.

My thought is that if you're observant and have the time to watch your baby, if you see him enter the waterer, you don't need to soak. But if they don't access the water on their own, and quite a few don't, you need to soak. 

People say that tortoises don't absorb water through their skin or shells, but if you weigh a baby after a couple days of not soaking, then weigh him after a 20 minute soak, you'll notice added weight. Soaking helps the baby stay hydrated.


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## Eredant (Oct 24, 2018)

Ok @Yvonne G, thank you for the clear answer!


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## Stoneman (Oct 27, 2018)

Yvonne G said:


> There are two schools of thought - soak daily and don't soak, but provide a water dish. Members here use both methods and have equal success.
> 
> My thought is that if you're observant and have the time to watch your baby, if you see him enter the waterer, you don't need to soak. But if they don't access the water on their own, and quite a few don't, you need to soak.
> 
> People say that tortoises don't absorb water through their skin or shells, but if you weigh a baby after a couple days of not soaking, then weigh him after a 20 minute soak, you'll notice added weight. Soaking helps the baby stay hydrated.



Mine always lose weight after a bath, because they use the bath as a toilet.


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## Tom (Oct 27, 2018)

Yvonne G said:


> There are two schools of thought - soak daily and don't soak, but provide a water dish. Members here use both methods and have equal success.



I completely disagree with the second sentence above. There is nothing equal about the success rate of people who soak daily and the people who don't soak at all.


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## Eredant (Oct 27, 2018)

Hey @Tom, perhaps a contributing factor to the success of the daily soaking is that it also means at least two visual and tactile checkups per day (pick up and down).


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## Tom (Oct 27, 2018)

Eredant said:


> Hey @Tom, perhaps a contributing factor to the success of the daily soaking is that it also means at least two visual and tactile checkups per day (pick up and down).


Certainly true. There is a list of benefits from daily soaking.

Hydration
Exercise
Shell hydration
Keeps the GI tract moving and in good shape
Daily handling and desensitization, as you noted.

Over the years I've raised many species and tried a variety of soaking regimes. The difference when babies are soaked daily is astounding and very pronounced when all other variables are the same.

And to clarify a bit: I soak them every single day as babies. When they hit that 100 gram mark, I only start skipping a day a week, or something similar. So they are still getting soaked 26-27 times a month. My primary reason for daily soaks is to keep them hydrated. I've seen dehydration kill a lot of babies of any species, including DTs, Russians and other species we all tend to think come from dry areas. Even if we don't see them drink, I still think they are taking on water. Some lizard species have scale patterns on their heads and faces that channel dew, fog, or rain into their mouths as it collects on their heads. I suspect, but cannot prove, something similar is happening when baby tortoises slosh around in their soak water, even if they don't specifically stick their head down and drink.

Also, I did a thread years ago discussing my observation that baby carapaces would get all dried out and shriveled when they were put outside for sun, grazing and exercise here in my hot dry climate, and that, much like a sponge, their carapaces would rehydrate and expand back to normal size and appearance during their post sunning soaks.


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## jsheffield (Oct 27, 2018)

My soaking regimen with Darwin serves a couple of purposes beneficial to him I think:

1) hydration
2) pooping
3) eating
4) cleaning

I soak him in warm water, and spray him with a 50cc hypodermic ... 
he seems to enjoy both, including the bubbles I make shooting the hypo around his shell. 

He dips his nose into the water most days to drink a bit as well.

I think the fact that it's clean and fresh water is better for him, it encourages more uptake, and must be healthier for him

It always stimulates him to poop, the regularity of which must be good for him.

By soaking him at the same time that I put down his fresh food, he gets first crack at it while he's got nothing else to do ... he always eats a bunch (in fact, it was weeks before I ever saw him eat outside of the soak).

I think the fact that I hose him off every day dislodges food and poop and possibly gross bedding that might otherwise stay on him for a longer period of time, possibly leading to fungus or infection.

None of these are huge factors, but taken together might contribute to an enhanced well-being in my tortoise.

Just a few thoughts, I'm a newbie and very likely wrong.

Jamie


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## Stoneman (Oct 29, 2018)

@Tom you mentioned that some lizards drink the morning dew that collects on to their heads. I have seen this on nature documentaries, so I can second this as factual. You stated that you believe this happens in the wild but could not be sure of the reality of how it was done exactly. I think i may have an answer. I did not think of this until you mentioned the lizards, but when I spray my tortoises with water, they scrape the water off of their faces. I think they may not be scrapping it off of their faces, but scraping the water into their mouths instead. Likely an adaptation in the wild over millions of years, designed as a method to collect water when none was available.


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## Madkins007 (Feb 5, 2019)

The basic concerns some people have about soaks include:

1. The skin of reptiles is waterproof. Unlike human skin, water does not pass through it. This is an adaptation that allowed them to cut their ties with the water. The outer few layers can plump up, but it does not reach the circulatory system. Even though there IS some activity through the cloaca, there is not a lot of evidence that they take water in that way. Probably, any water intake during a soak only happens through drinking.

2. Many people are concerned about the signs of stress torts show during forced soaks- frantic movements, pooping, etc.

3. Salmonellosis- a tortoise soaking in it's fecal matter increases the chances it will carry Salmonellosis. This is not a big issue. 

It is REALLY important that tortoises be properly hydrated. Many wild tortoises ride right on the thin line of death by dehydration to the point that picking up a wild desert tort can cause it to urinate as a fear/defense response- then slowly die of dehydration if they cannot rehydrate enough- difficult to do in much of their range. The ways YOU hydrate YOUR tortoise will depend on a lot of factors, including age and species of tort, local humidity levels, budget, and indoors/outdoor.

For your little guys, I would suggest a humid environment, moist components in the diet (most fruits are wet enough), and an easily accessible pool. (That means it should be set flush to the substrate, be a material and shape that is easy for the torts to walk into and out of, and big enough for a tort to get fully into with water depth halfway up the shell.


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