Bath Time!

Darrell1738

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My tap water is very hard and heavily chlorinated so I use distilled water.
ImageUploadedByTortoise Forum1487476963.782993.jpg
We have this filter built in under our kitchen sink. I know the petstore I work at sells something similar called a r.o. Buddy. $60 for a filter that will do 50 gallons a day! Ours is overkill, but it comes in handy!
 

Oxalis

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and even sprawls his legs out to "lay" in the water!
My Russian will do that for approximately 1.3 seconds and then it's time to get out of the water or everybody gets it!! :mad: I never thought to put him under his heat lamp in the water... perhaps he might enjoy that more...

Lovely plants in your tort enclosure!! ;)
 

Darrell1738

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My Russian will do that for approximately 1.3 seconds and then it's time to get out of the water or everybody gets it!! :mad: I never thought to put him under his heat lamp in the water... perhaps he might enjoy that more...

Lovely plants in your tort enclosure!! ;)
Thank you! I've been trying to grow a few different types of cacti, but to no avail yet! Maybe your Russian would like to be under the heat lamp! I don't have any experience w Russians. But I put sweet Mahoney in there that morning, bc it was only 62 degrees in my house, and I didn't want him to catch a chill! (His cages hot spot is at 110 and the rest stays in the mid to low 80's).
 

Darrell1738

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My Russian will do that for approximately 1.3 seconds and then it's time to get out of the water or everybody gets it!! :mad: I never thought to put him under his heat lamp in the water... perhaps he might enjoy that more...

Lovely plants in your tort enclosure!! ;)
I also use warmer water, just so it's not an arctic plunge!
 

Cowboy_Ken

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I also use warmer water, just so it's not an arctic plunge!
Good idea with WARM water soaks. It is very important that the soaking water be at the least as warm as the warm side of his enclosure. I use a digital thermometer with the probe in the water and regularly monitor the temps.
If the water gets too low, I scoop some out and replace it with fresher, warmer water.
 

Oxalis

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Good idea with WARM water soaks. It is very important that the soaking water be at the least as warm as the warm side of his enclosure. I use a digital thermometer with the probe in the water and regularly monitor the temps.
If the water gets too low, I scoop some out and replace it with fresher, warmer water.
Yes, I use warmer water too. He seems to be more "uncomfortable" as the water temperature cools, so I try not to keep him in a bath too long. I was thinking that taking him out of his regular enclosure confuses him since it's not his typical surroundings, and maybe that is the main reason he dislikes bath time.
 

Cowboy_Ken

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I was thinking that taking him out of his regular enclosure is the main reason he dislikes bath time.
I kinda cleaned up my quote of yours to offer a better, more likely explanation of why your little buddy doesn't "seem" to care for soaking time. Although it's in their best interests, and for their best health, they can be VERY stubborn in their ways.
All that exercise they get while trying to get out, is just plain good for them. It helps keep the internals working and often times provides a much needed workout. And it gives us keepers the added bonus of getting to examine their, "crap" for any obvious internal parasites that might pass unnoticed otherwise. Yay us, right?
Trust me here. With regularity comes expectation and trust from your tortoise that it's not as bad as it may have first figured, and it will settle down with the regular soakings.
You might try following the bath/soak with a favorite treat to provide some positive reinforcement to the whole routine. Just make sure it's a HEALTHY treat for your tortoise.
In regard to the treat idea, I recently posted a thread that was concerning tortoises remembering the best place for productive food sources. You could place a colored, playing card sized piece of cardboard in the enclosure over the treat location and always use that same card/color/treat after soaking for maybe 3-6 months, while taking notes. Then, once you notice it going to the same location for a spell, change things up. You know, put the treat in a new location with the card moved there as well.
Keep good notes and certainly keep us up to date with this. And most importantly stay honest with the tortoise. Don't set it down pointing towards the new treat location, and don't sabotage it by placing it away. Keep us up to date, I want to follow this idea. What do you think?




Holy C#%P that was a long winded post about soaking!!!LOL
 

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