# Water bowl problem...or is it ? :D :D



## tyler0912 (Aug 2, 2011)

*Unkown where to post this feel free to move it somewhere more suitable...
Well i have an organic compost and sphagnum moss as substrate as you can imagine when my redfoot tortoise bathes in his waterbowl it gets mucky...really mucky...i put sphagnum moss around the bowls to see if this helped....NO...
i clean it every chance i get but when i go out for 3-4 hrs will it be okay and if he drunk it ...would it be a problem please and thankyous' all around!!  
He uses it as a mud bath haha! *


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## dmarcus (Aug 2, 2011)

They sometimes like the water dirty, so if they drink it after dirtying it up, it won't be the end of the world.


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## tyler0912 (Aug 2, 2011)

Thank-you just watched the video of your sulcata of spur-thigh ..sorry unsure! going down his ramp outdoors very cute and sweet! 

'or spur thigh', i meen


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## dmarcus (Aug 2, 2011)

Its a Sulcata and he loves his water very muddy for some reason, so I just clean it when every I can...


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## Madkins007 (Aug 2, 2011)

Surrounding the dish with pebbles or tiles helps keep it clean, but an even better method is to position it well away from an edge or traffic path. Most torts soil their dish while 'patrolling' the habitat. Moving it keeps them out of it unless they want to take a drink or dip.


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## Torty Mom (Aug 2, 2011)

Dirty water happens all day long at my house!  They walk in and out and in and out. Sometimes they take a nap in it. Sometimes they are half in and half out. They are just being torties! It's all good!


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## tyler0912 (Aug 2, 2011)

Thankyou x x


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## bikerchicspain (Aug 2, 2011)

I know how you feel, I have tried everything possible to keep the water clean, even a filter, but they are like kids, the dirtier the better, so I just leave them to it.

If they poop in it I will change the water if not it's changed daily..


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## tyler0912 (Aug 2, 2011)

okay thank-you"


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## dmmj (Aug 2, 2011)

some people terryo comes to mind I believe use frog moss around the water bowl to catch a lot of the dirt and stuff to keep the water cleaner, but with a tortoise it won't ever stay crystal clear


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## tyler0912 (Aug 2, 2011)

^^i use sphagnum moss.....no difference!


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## dmmj (Aug 2, 2011)

frog moss is a little different it has a different texture than sphagnum.


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## tyler0912 (Aug 2, 2011)

oh...sorry.........i thought....Moss is...moss?


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## jackrat (Aug 2, 2011)

Actually the frog moss works a little better than sphagnum. It is more like a mat that doesn't get dragged into the water.Sphagnum can get pulled into the water dish and act like a wick,drawing all the water out.In my vivarium,I use stones around the bowl,then frog moss outside the perimeter of the stones.It has been working well for me.


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## HarleyK (Aug 2, 2011)

Dude I use bed-a-beast/eco earth tell me about it! ..and sphagnum moss!


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## terryo (Aug 2, 2011)

Frog moss around the water bowl will help keep it clean.......except for "poop".
This is frog moss...it stays green all the time, and looks and feels nice too.
















Poop in the water dish that hasn't been cleaned yet....but the frog moss still looks good. LOL


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## tyler0912 (Aug 2, 2011)

Terry stop posting pics your making me jealous!! :')


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## CtTortoiseMom (Aug 2, 2011)

Sold. I am getting rid of all the sphagnum moss and changing to frog moss asap! Thank's


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## Madkins007 (Aug 2, 2011)

When you buy your frog moss (and there are other options as well), you often have two options- dead but pretty, and dried but alive after a good soak. 

Here is a link to my favorite source- http://www.bigappleherp.com/Nature-Zone-Moss?sc=2&category=23145

I find the stuff works well in my habitats as well, but I can only seem to keep it alive for several months at a time.


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## terryo (Aug 2, 2011)

I buy mine in a craft store....Michael's. I don't think it's really frog moss. They have all different kinds for making flower arrangements. It's very soft, and stays green. I rinse it out good, and then just squeeze it a little to get some of the water out of it. I also bought frog moss from Amazon.com, and it was exactly like this moss, so that's why I called it frog moss. It even stays green under the heat emitter. I have to get up a picture of the bag that is comes in.


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## dmmj (Aug 2, 2011)

the frog moss you buy from michael's is it alive?


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## CtTortoiseMom (Aug 2, 2011)

Madkins007 said:


> When you buy your frog moss (and there are other options as well), you often have two options- dead but pretty, and dried but alive after a good soak.
> 
> Here is a link to my favorite source- http://www.bigappleherp.com/Nature-Zone-Moss?sc=2&category=23145
> 
> I find the stuff works well in my habitats as well, but I can only seem to keep it alive for several months at a time.



Which would you say hold's moisture better, dead or alive? I have been using the sphagnum moss around where my basking light is and it dries out incredibly fast.


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## Angi (Aug 2, 2011)

I put my tort water dish on a shallow pan. My turtles have two one is on a large stepping stone the other has river rocks around it so the clean off a little before going in.


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## Rosiek15 (Aug 20, 2011)

My tortoise decides that if i havent given him his bath yet and he has to poop that he will go sit in his water bowl and poop lol


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## EricIvins (Aug 21, 2011)

The moss you find at craft stores is dead, but dyed green so it looks alive, so is the stuff you find packaged and sold for Reptiles in a pet store........Temperate moss will never last more than a few months, it's just how it functions........Tropical moss will last a very long time in a Vivarium type setting, is still fairly cold resistant, and this is what alot of keepers use in "natural" set ups where it lives and grows the way it should.......


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## terryo (Aug 21, 2011)

If you're keeping on heat emitters, no matter how much you spray it will eventually turn brown. This is about the best I've used and lasted the longest, but still turned brown. When I first got my RF I keep this moss and it was always wet. Eventually she got a fungus, so now I try to keep the substrate dry and just mist the plants and her hide, so that's why I use the craft moss mostly. This moss is great for keeping in vivariums with your small box turtles that can't go outside, if you're not using heat emitters.
http://www.blackjungleterrariumsupply.com/Live-Tropical-Moss_p_759.html


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