Water dish necessary?

tortilla4

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Hi guys,

I am pondering something and I would love your opinions. I recently switched to a coconut fiber substrate and it has been great for Sally, the only issue I'm having is that when she walks into her water dish the substrate that is stuck to her goes in the water and creates a mud at the bottom of the dish. I can't see any way to avoid this as the damp coconut fiber is always stuck to her and it gets everywhere she goes. What I am wondering is does she really need to have a water dish if I soak her every day to hydrate her? When she was younger she would sit in her water dish and soak for long periods of time but within the past few months she will never go in there to soak, even before I switched her substrate. Does she need to have a water dish if she isn't using it anymore and it's just making a mess? Let me know what you think, I'm just pondering over here. :)
 

Ben02

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Hi guys,

I am pondering something and I would love your opinions. I recently switched to a coconut fiber substrate and it has been great for Sally, the only issue I'm having is that when she walks into her water dish the substrate that is stuck to her goes in the water and creates a mud at the bottom of the dish. I can't see any way to avoid this as the damp coconut fiber is always stuck to her and it gets everywhere she goes. What I am wondering is does she really need to have a water dish if I soak her every day to hydrate her? When she was younger she would sit in her water dish and soak for long periods of time but within the past few months she will never go in there to soak, even before I switched her substrate. Does she need to have a water dish if she isn't using it anymore and it's just making a mess? Let me know what you think, I'm just pondering over here. :)
I would definitely keep the water dish in, I had the same problem but I placed a good amount of orchid bark around the bowl and the water stays pretty clean.
 

Yvonne G

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Place the waterer out away from the edge of the enclosure. Since tortoises tend to pace the perimeter, or along the walls, it stands to reason that if you move the waterer out to the middle of the enclosure he won't wander through it during his marching the perimeter.
 

Toddrickfl1

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I had the same problem, switched to Cypress mulch, problem solved.
 
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Tom

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Coco coir is not a good substrate for RFs. Its difficult to keep the moisture level at the surface just right. Too wet, and it sticks to everything and also causes shell rot in RFs and YFs which are prone to it. Too dry and it gets dusty and doesn't do what its supposed to do which is maintain higher humidity.

The solution here is to use a better substrate. My preference if for fine grade orchid bark, but cypress mulch can work too. Use a thick layer of 4-5 inches. The bottom layers can be kept wetter while the upper layers can be relatively dry. This will help maintain the necessary high humidity without having your tortoises plastron on a wet surface all the time. This will also allow you to keep the water dish, which is also a necessity in my opinion.
 

jsheffield

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I soak my redfoot nearly every day, his enclosure holds steady with humidity above 90%, and I still see him drinking out of the water bowl most days.

I use cypress mulch, which doesn't stick to him much.

Jamie
 

aqualungs

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I just switched back to Orchid bark and got the fine bark like Tom mentioned. It’s actually the Reptibark. I went to all my garden stores and could not find what I needed, it was all blends. I buy my orchid bark online, and its almost 40$. Reptibark is now 18.99 for a big bag on Amazon, so Pet Supplies plus price matched.
So much better and easier when KI go to do soaks.
You won’t have a mess in your water dish like coire. :)
 

tortilla4

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Coco coir is not a good substrate for RFs. Its difficult to keep the moisture level at the surface just right. Too wet, and it sticks to everything and also causes shell rot in RFs and YFs which are prone to it. Too dry and it gets dusty and doesn't do what its supposed to do which is maintain higher humidity.

The solution here is to use a better substrate. My preference if for fine grade orchid bark, but cypress mulch can work too. Use a thick layer of 4-5 inches. The bottom layers can be kept wetter while the upper layers can be relatively dry. This will help maintain the necessary high humidity without having your tortoises plastron on a wet surface all the time. This will also allow you to keep the water dish, which is also a necessity in my opinion.
The problem I was having and the reason I switched to the coconut fiber substrate was that Sally was eating the wood chips regularly. I thought that she was eating them only because they were attached to her poop but recently caught her eating just a plain old dry wood chip. Any thoughts on this and how to stop it? I had reptibark in her tank before and it was much better but the only issue was her eating it. I would love to hear advice on this as I am in the learning process of owning a tortoise and I would love any kind advice you all have to offer. :)
 

Sleppo

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I use cypress mulch and it can get pretty dry and dusty if you don't add water every so often. Just a heads up.
 

Yvonne G

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The problem I was having and the reason I switched to the coconut fiber substrate was that Sally was eating the wood chips regularly. I thought that she was eating them only because they were attached to her poop but recently caught her eating just a plain old dry wood chip. Any thoughts on this and how to stop it? I had reptibark in her tank before and it was much better but the only issue was her eating it. I would love to hear advice on this as I am in the learning process of owning a tortoise and I would love any kind advice you all have to offer. :)
Do you use a red light? Red sometimes makes them think substrate looks like food. Buy a product called "Miner-all." It is mfg'd by Sticky Tongue Farms. It provides lots of minerals they need and helps them stop eating dirt.
 

tortilla4

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Do you use a red light? Red sometimes makes them think substrate looks like food. Buy a product called "Miner-all." It is mfg'd by Sticky Tongue Farms. It provides lots of minerals they need and helps them stop eating dirt.
No I use a white basic bulb. I have a powder mineral product that came with Sally when I got her, is it likely the same thing? On my bottle it says I can either top her food with it or mix it with water to make it into basically a salad dressing (ha!) what do you do with yours to serve it? I was confused by this product when they gave it to me so I wasn't using it but I will definitely start using it once I know how! :) Thank you for the advice Yvonne!
 

ZEROPILOT

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Redfoot drink a lot of water. Like to sit in the water and breed when it rains.
They need water and humidity.
They are a very "aquatic" land tortoise.
Keep a shallow water tray available all the time.
I also use Orchid bark.
 

Sue Ann

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I just switched back to Orchid bark and got the fine bark like Tom mentioned. It’s actually the Reptibark. I went to all my garden stores and could not find what I needed, it was all blends. I buy my orchid bark online, and its almost 40$. Reptibark is now 18.99 for a big bag on Amazon, so Pet Supplies plus price matched.
So much better and easier when KI go to do soaks.
You won’t have a mess in your water dish like coire. :)
I get mine from Ace Hardware and its $8.99 a bag. Just like the one I ordered online for $20 and Shipping.
 

ShirleyTX

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You can surround the water dish with a couple of rows of flat stones. Some of the substrate will get knocked off Sally as she walks across the stones. I live in a rocky area so I just pick them up from the yard. I soak them in a bucket of water for a day or two, then boil for an hour or so.
 

dmmj

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The stones around the water dish is a good way to cut down on substrate in the water dish.
 
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