Soaking in warm water from the tap?

[Geng]

Hello there,

I couldn't find any thread about this topic, so yeah:

Is it okay to soak tortoises (in my case a male Russian) in warm tap water? Sometimes we would drink during his soaks. For us humans it is clear that warm tap water ain't healthy, but I'm questioning if it is okay for tortoises to drink from warm water from the tap?

 

[Maro2Bear]

Greetings. Where do you live? If the water is fine for humans, dogs, cats & animals to drink, then it’s perfectly fine to soak your tortoise. If you live in an area with non-potable water (from the tap) then its not safe.

 

[Toddrickfl1]

Hello there,

I couldn't find any thread about this topic, so yeah:

Is it okay to soak tortoises (in my case a male Russian) in warm tap water? Sometimes we would drink during his soaks. For us humans it is clear that warm tap water ain't healthy, but I'm questioning if it is okay for tortoises to drink from warm water from the tap?

It's fine for your tortoise. I grew up drinking warm tap water out of a garden hose and I'm still alive.

 

[Cleopatra 2020]

Hello there,

I couldn't find any thread about this topic, so yeah:

Is it okay to soak tortoises (in my case a male Russian) in warm tap water? Sometimes we would drink during his soaks. For us humans it is clear that warm tap water ain't healthy, but I'm questioning if it is okay for tortoises to drink from warm water from the tap?

Well my thought on that is as with anything always strive to do the best you can for your turtles which I would think includes using bottled water lightly warmed up on the stove to the correct temperature would be the best that you can do so if you wouldn't drink it I definitely wouldn't let my tortoise drink it

 

[Cleopatra 2020]

Even Google says it's not a good idea considering water is life and Heat especially extreme heat kills that water there's a lot of sediment in buildup in hot water tanks I know this cuz I repair them and seen the water that comes out of them first hand being that I love my tortoise I would think bottled water is the best way to go

 

[Cleopatra 2020]

And knowing the bottle water doesn't hurt them is just a reassuring Factor to keep your baby safe so you don't have to wonder and worry I just don't like to take chances with anything that I'm not sure of I'd like to go with what I know works guarantee a successful outcome with anything for that matter but that's just me

 

[jsheffield]

If the water is fine for you to drink, it's fine for them to soak in or drink.

Jamie

 

[Maggie3fan]

Well my thought on that is as with anything always strive to do the best you can for your turtles which I would think includes using bottled water lightly warmed up on the stove to the correct temperature would be the best that you can do so if you wouldn't drink it I definitely wouldn't let my tortoise drink it

Oh crap! Get real. You are talking about an animal that eats his own poop. Bottled water for a tortoise? I am very good about soaking, I have lived in this house for almost 16 years soaking many many hatchlings and bigger, and I don't think I've killed any with tap water...

 

[Tom]

For us humans it is clear that warm tap water ain't healthy...

Yes. Clear as mud.

First, go into your user profile and put in a location so we all know where you are in the world. Here in North America, the tap water is perfectly safe in most areas. In the few areas where it isn't, the people living there know it and make other arrangements. I shower in warm water here daily, and wash my hands in it before meals and several other times each day. I sometimes drink some in the shower too when I'm rinsing my face.

Ever heard of the canary in a coal mine? Birds are quite sensitive to airborne fumes, but they are also sensitive to toxins in food or water. I have generations of birds, aquarium fish, and amphibians living on the tap water here, in addition to raising more than a 1000 baby tortoises on it and in it with daily warm water soaks.

If there were any problem with tap water, I think I would have seen it sometime in the last few decades.

 

[Cleopatra 2020]

Oh crap! Get real. You are talking about an animal that eats his own poop. Bottled water for a tortoise? I am very good about soaking, I have lived in this house for almost 16 years soaking many many hatchlings and bigger, and I don't think I've killed any with tap water...

Sure it might not hurt them but it's a preference thing for me which is perfectly fine as well I just know our water here locally where I live is not the greatest and the water heater doesn't help either... I've drank it's nasty I won't give it to my tortoise....

 

[Maggie3fan]

Sure it might not hurt them but it's a preference thing for me which is perfectly fine as well I just know our water here locally where I live is not the greatest and the water heater doesn't help either... I've drank it's nasty I won't give it to my tortoise....

And certainly you can do what you want and that you're capable of doing. But a good number of us here have groups of chelonia, not just one (sorta like Lay's potato chips). Anyway, we all have our own personal way of doing things and it's really pretty different for all of us.

 

[turtlesteve]

Well, if you want to find a true expert in marketing, look no further than bottled water companies

I filter my tap water to remove chlorine, but only because it tastes better. Having grown up in a place that has very soft water, I do find that tap water in some parts of the country tastes disgusting. Mostly in the southeast US at the coast. When I was a kid we called it "beach water". But, it wasn't unsafe in any way and we drank it anyways. The bad taste comes from dissolved minerals that occur naturally.

The only thing I won't use tap water for is growing live corals in a saltwater aquarium.

 

[Yossarian]

Well, if you want to find a true expert in marketing, look no further than bottled water companies

I filter my tap water to remove chlorine, but only because it tastes better. Having grown up in a place that has very soft water, I do find that tap water in some parts of the country tastes disgusting. Mostly in the southeast US at the coast. When I was a kid we called it "beach water". But, it wasn't unsafe in any way and we drank it anyways. The bad taste comes from dissolved minerals that occur naturally.

This is a good explanation. Water quality for most of us lucky enough to live in developed nations comes down to how it tastes, not whether it is safe. If you want to spend a lot of money to improve the taste or to reduce hardness/softness then fair enough, there are some places with terrible tasting water after growing up in Colorado. But those things are definitely not required for health reasons, anyone that suggest otherwise is selling something.

Bottled water, unless you are re-using bottles, is hugely wasteful, both of water and plastic, requires something around 3 times as much water to make as the container holds. It is not an industry that should recieve any support, unless there is literally no other option. A remarkable stat is that bottled water is more expensive than gasoline in the US and Europe.

 

[Cleopatra 2020]

It probably doesn't hurt them but then again why give a Generac brand when you can give the best or better just makes good common sense if you take the attitude you just want to do the best you can for them and pursue that

 

[Beachtherapy]

Yes. Clear as mud.

First, go into your user profile and put in a location so we all know where you are in the world. Here in North America, the tap water is perfectly safe in most areas. In the few areas where it isn't, the people living there know it and make other arrangements. I shower in warm water here daily, and wash my hands in it before meals and several other times each day. I sometimes drink some in the shower too when I'm rinsing my face.

Ever heard of the canary in a coal mine? Birds are quite sensitive to airborne fumes, but they are also sensitive to toxins in food or water. I have generations of birds, aquarium fish, and amphibians living on the tap water here, in addition to raising more than a 1000 baby tortoises on it and in it with daily warm water soaks.

If there were any problem with tap water, I think I would have seen it sometime in the last few decades.

OMG I had to share your reply to my best friend!
If I’d done the things you’ve done for all those years, it’s exactly what I’d have wrote. Thank You for such a great easy to understand with no doubts reply?
I totally agree 1000%

 

[Cleopatra 2020]

This is a good explanation. Water quality for most of us lucky enough to live in developed nations comes down to how it tastes, not whether it is safe. If you want to spend a lot of money to improve the taste or to reduce hardness/softness then fair enough, there are some places with terrible tasting water after growing up in Colorado. But those things are definitely not required for health reasons, anyone that suggest otherwise is selling something.

Bottled water, unless you are re-using bottles, is hugely wasteful, both of water and plastic, requires something around 3 times as much water to make as the container holds. It is not an industry that should recieve any support, unless there is literally no other option. A remarkable stat is that bottled water is more expensive than gasoline in the US and Europe.

Well bottled water doesn't mean necessarily that you buy it in bottles I do however refill a 5 gallon bottle which the water is filtered and therefore reducing the intake of crap that you would get in tap water

 

[Cleopatra 2020]

OMG I had to share your reply to my best friend!
If I’d done the things you’ve done for all those years, it’s exactly what I’d have wrote. Thank You for such a great easy to understand with no doubts reply?
I totally agree 1000%

Yeah that's real good entertainment getting a laugh out of someone's post because they simply prefer something over something else which everybody has their reasons for what they do but rather than make fun of them I think commending them for taking such strides to have perfection further pets would be more admirable and mature Behavior

 

[Maggie3fan]

Yeah that's real good entertainment getting a laugh out of someone's post because they simply prefer something over something else which everybody has their reasons for what they do but rather than make fun of them I think commending them for taking such strides to have perfection further pets would be more admirable and mature Behavior

You know what? Almost every comment agrees with you, yet you continue to be disagreeable. I personally was not making fun of you in the least. I posted what is my opinion and I posted it the way I talk and the way I am. Honest and blunt. Sorry you seem to need coddling. I am done with this crap.

 

[Chubbs the tegu]

You know what? Almost every comment agrees with you, yet you continue to be disagreeable. I personally was not making fun of you in the least. I posted what is my opinion and I posted it the way I talk and the way I am. Honest and blunt. Sorry you seem to need coddling. I am done with this crap.

Mags. U should pressure wash ur outdoor enclosure everyday too! Make sure u get the dirt nice and clean

 

[Tom]

It probably doesn't hurt them but then again why give a Generac brand when you can give the best or better just makes good common sense if you take the attitude you just want to do the best you can for them and pursue that

For me it boils down to volume. Soaking dozens of babies daily uses about 15 gallons. I soak my larger adults in tubs ranging from 18 gallons for the little stars to 105 gallon cement mixing tubs for the adult sulcatas and SA leopards. No way I could do that with bottled water. When done soaking, I dump all this poopy water into basins for my plants and trees. Its time consuming, but I love the system.

I also collect, filter, and store rainwater. I use that for rinsing the tortoises after a soak, or for spraying the enclosures. This prevents the hard water stains that would come from mineralized water from a bottle or the tap.