# How do you keep substrate out of the water bowl?



## qweny (Aug 13, 2012)

Hi guys, 

I was just wondering how you keep substrate out of your tortoise's water bowl? I have two hermanns and one of them really likes to walk in and out of the water bowl when drinking or he just walks through it instead of going round it! But since he enters the water bowl at least 4 times every hour by midday the water bowl is filled with more soil than water!

I have a soil/sand substrate mix and when he walks through the water bowl his legs and plastron get wet. Then when he walks on the soil he picks up lots of material and it completely covers areas like his tail and nails. Then he keeps making trips to and from the waterbowl and ends up picking up soil, then dropping it off again and again. I have placed pieces of slate around the bowl but they dont seem to help at all.

I am worried because when they drink from the water and it has a lot of sand in it and i dont want them to ingest it because of impactation.

This is also a problem with feeding because he has so much soil in his nails that when he uses his hands to hold his food when he eats, he covers the weeds in soil and sand.

How do you keep subsrate out of your tortoises water bowl?

Thanks, any ideas will be greatly appreciated


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## dmmj (Aug 13, 2012)

Sorry to say, but you don't. It is a never ending battle.


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## wellington (Aug 13, 2012)

What I find to help, not perfect, but might help.put some flat rock around the dish. They have to step on the rock and walk a couple steps on the rock before getting into the water dish. The rock helps to knock off some of it. Just be sure they can get up onto the rock. I have pieces of flag stone around mine.

Another thought. You could put in another water dish and make it smaller, just for drinking and not soaking. Don't remove the larger one though.


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## Tom (Aug 13, 2012)

I just change the water several times a day, if needed.

If I were you, I would change substrates. I don't use sand in any mixture just for the two reasons you mentioned. It's messy, and it can cause impactions. Coco chips or orchid bark sticks to them a lot less and does not foul the water as much.


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## qweny (Aug 13, 2012)

Hi guys, thank you so much for your ideas, i think i will reduce the sand in my subsrate and try using a smaller bowl for a few days just for drinking, not bathing.( i'll just have to bath them every morning instead)


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## gerberwoman (Aug 13, 2012)

what is this 'orchid bark' of which you speak? my ornate is doing the same thing to his water bowl(s) and i am changing the water constantly,a slo have a mixture of coir and sand and organic potting soil and concerned about it getting into his eyes ingenstion etc. he's about ten years old.


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## N2TORTS (Aug 13, 2012)

As Tom and others have mentioned it usually requires more constant water changes. Although , here is an idea that I use for the RF's..and the outdoor soak pond. If you can find rocks ( preferably flat smooth Mexican River Rock or similar) and make sure they are larger then your tort can swallow.....but still allow somewhat of a stable ramp for the tortoise.....you can create a ring/ramp of rock around the outside edge of your water source as far out as you wish , thus allowing somewhat of a "rock walk off mat" aka Tortoise door mat.....I also use these rocks inside of the water source to create various depths within the soaking area.

JD~


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## Laura (Aug 13, 2012)

you can try moving the bowl to a place they dont pace as much as well.. 
and as cute as your profile picture is.... its also scary... dogs and torts dont mix...
expecially so small...


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