# carrot soaks



## Cathie G (Dec 14, 2018)

I'm wondering what the recipe for a carrot soak is. How much baby food with the water? Can this soak be used once in awhile for just a little boost? It must do more then just warm a tortoise up...


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## Kristy1970 (Dec 14, 2018)

I’d like to know too, can I soak a healthy tort in carrot food?


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## JoesMum (Dec 14, 2018)

No. A healthy tort should not have a carrot soak. The soak helps to get a few calories and some sugars into a sick tort. The tort drinks the diluted pureed carrot.

Testudo (Greeks, Russians, Hermann's, etc) Sulcatas and Leopards all cannot digest sugars properly, they cause digestive and kidney problems, so sweet foods like carrot, tomato, fruit and bell pepper should only be fed very sparingly and very occasionally if at all. 

The carrot soak is for emergency use only.


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## Cathie G (Dec 15, 2018)

JoesMum said:


> No. A healthy tort should not have a carrot soak. The soak helps to get a few calories and some sugars into a sick tort. The tort drinks the diluted pureed carrot.
> 
> Testudo (Greeks, Russians, Hermann's, etc) Sulcatas and Leopards all cannot digest sugars properly, they cause digestive and kidney problems, so sweet foods like carrot, tomato, fruit and bell pepper should only be fed very sparingly and very occasionally if at all.
> 
> The carrot soak is for emergency use only.


Ok. But I'm now wondering if other baby food or even herbs could be beneficial in a soak. Not everyday of course. I'm thinking about mud puddles in the wild. Or even the humid burrows having a natural tea from dew and the surrounding vegetation. I'm probably being dumb but I'm just wondering. I'll keep my baby food carrots for emergency use only. Lol. Thanks for the input.


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## JoesMum (Dec 15, 2018)

Cathie G said:


> Ok. But I'm now wondering if other baby food or even herbs could be beneficial in a soak. Not everyday of course. I'm thinking about mud puddles in the wild. Or even the humid burrows having a natural tea from dew and the surrounding vegetation. I'm probably being dumb but I'm just wondering. I'll keep my baby food carrots for emergency use only. Lol. Thanks for the input.



Really, no. You are overthinking this. Plain tap water and a good diet are the way to go.


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## Arzu78 (Dec 15, 2018)

Cathie G said:


> I'm wondering what the recipe for a carrot soak is. How much baby food with the water? Can this soak be used once in awhile for just a little boost? It must do more then just warm a tortoise up...



Hi, the carrot soaks are done when the babies are not eating/lethargic in order to provide nutrients and help them recover. The nutrients go in by way of drinking the water and thru the bottom. I filled the bin with very warm water and added about two tablespoons of carrot baby food. The soak is not needed if your tort is doing okay!!! But recently, I mashed a grassland tortoise pellet with a bit of warm baby food and voilá Lizzy ate it (she would not touch them before), but just a bit because of the sugar content.


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## Cathie G (Dec 15, 2018)

JoesMum said:


> Really, no. You are overthinking this. Plain tap water and a good diet are the way to go.


Ok. That's actually what I do. He's not good about taking supplements and was trying to figure out a devious way to get them into him. Thanks for taking the time to answer.


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## Cathie G (Dec 15, 2018)

Arzu78 said:


> Hi, the carrot soaks are done when the babies are not eating/lethargic in order to provide nutrients and help them recover. The nutrients go in by way of drinking the water and thru the bottom. I filled the bin with very warm water and added about two tablespoons of carrot baby food. The soak is not needed if your tort is doing okay!!! But recently, I mashed a grassland tortoise pellet with a bit of warm baby food and voilá Lizzy ate it (she would not touch them before), but just a bit because of the sugar content.


I'll try that. He eats good but I always worry because he's picky about what he'll eat and I'm afraid he's not getting a well balanced diet.


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## drew54 (Dec 15, 2018)

Cathie G said:


> Ok. That's actually what I do. He's not good about taking supplements and was trying to figure out a devious way to get them into him. Thanks for taking the time to answer.



I don't typically have issues with supplements. I use vitasol and put it in the soak water or on her mazuri since it's a guarantee she will eat it. Calcium I can sprinkle on her food and she will eventually eat it. I sometimes put the supplements in her soak also. Just depends. I would put it in the soak water and mix it.


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## Cathie G (Dec 15, 2018)

drew54 said:


> I don't typically have issues with supplements. I use vitasol and put it in the soak water or on her mazuri since it's a guarantee she will eat it. Calcium I can sprinkle on her food and she will eventually eat it. I sometimes put the supplements in her soak also. Just depends. I would put it in the soak water and mix it.


Thanks. I was hoping it might do some good sneaking a supplement in the back door of my baby brat. And he likes his bath.


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## drew54 (Dec 15, 2018)

Cathie G said:


> Thanks. I was hoping it might do some good sneaking a supplement in the back door of my baby brat. And he likes his bath.


that is what i do sometimes. I think putting it always on her food would get a bit old, so i try to switch it up sometimes. -shrugs- not sure how much of it she gets in the soak, but i don't worry too much about calcium since she nibbles on her cuttlebone. I just mainly focus on the multivitamins.


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## Yvonne G (Dec 17, 2018)

Cathie G said:


> Ok. But I'm now wondering if other baby food or even herbs could be beneficial in a soak. Not everyday of course. I'm thinking about mud puddles in the wild. Or even the humid burrows having a natural tea from dew and the surrounding vegetation. I'm probably being dumb but I'm just wondering. I'll keep my baby food carrots for emergency use only. Lol. Thanks for the input.


The reason you use baby food strained carrots is because it has a high vitamin A content. When a sick baby stops eating the first thing that causes him a problem is the lack of vitamin A, this means swollen shut eyes. The baby food soaks gets the eyes open within three days. Other baby foods without the high vitamin A content would not have this effect and would do little to help a sick baby.

I mix the baby food 50/50 with warm water.


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## Cathie G (Dec 17, 2018)

Yvonne G said:


> The reason you use baby food strained carrots is because it has a high vitamin A content. When a sick baby stops eating the first thing that causes him a problem is the lack of vitamin A, this means swollen shut eyes. The baby food soaks gets the eyes open within three days. Other baby foods without the high vitamin A content would not have this effect and would do little to help a sick baby.
> 
> I mix the baby food 50/50 with warm water.


Thank you so much for answering. It's really great to find answers for a just in case situation. I'm thinking the soak is like an iv turdess style...


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