- Joined
- Oct 30, 2010
- Messages
- 2,410
I can understand warm soaking of hatchlings/babies, sickly or very dry tortoises (of all ages), torts coming out of hibernation or newly acquired tortoises.
However, I'm not sure I want to get into a regular thing of soaking my healthy Russian subadults/adults.
Might it be quite stressful for them? Being picked up, moved, feeling out of place, being in the water with no way out...Yes, it might make cleaning the enclosure easier since they'll pass stool and urine/urates in the water. It also might be a good opportunity for owners to monitor urates/poop, and get the carapace wet in place of a misting, but does this benefit outweigh the cost of whatever stressing/scaring of the tortoise may be occurring?
Is the defecation/urination a result of being scared/stressed or is it a result of being in warm water, similar to the sensation other animals, even people get when in a body of water? (oo I'm in a source of water, I can excrete this waste and fill up on fresh stuff, even though they might not actually drink during a soak and it might not actually be fresh/safe drinking water)
Would a tortoise be more balanced/healthy/hydrated/happy if it is handled minimally and allowed to drink/defecate/urinate at its own will rather than being encouraged by soaking?
I personally found that when I soaked one of my tortoises regularly, urates were still gritty. She was too scared, wouldn't stop flailing (some might say which is a good form of exercise), and probably didn't even calm down enough to consider drinking. Urates became smooth only after I provided a water bowl that allowed drinking to occur when the tortoise felt comfortable to do so.
I believe it has been debated whether or not and up to what part of the digestive tract nutrient absorption takes place...would soaking and scaring, essentially forcing defecation interfere with this process? Also, might sound funny/weird but are there any benefits of tortoises eating their poop? This is something else that doesn't take place if excrement comes out during soaks rather than in enclosure.
Please share your thoughts if you are reading this. Everyone appreciates when their threads are acknowledged and receive replies. Thanks in advance.
However, I'm not sure I want to get into a regular thing of soaking my healthy Russian subadults/adults.
Might it be quite stressful for them? Being picked up, moved, feeling out of place, being in the water with no way out...Yes, it might make cleaning the enclosure easier since they'll pass stool and urine/urates in the water. It also might be a good opportunity for owners to monitor urates/poop, and get the carapace wet in place of a misting, but does this benefit outweigh the cost of whatever stressing/scaring of the tortoise may be occurring?
Is the defecation/urination a result of being scared/stressed or is it a result of being in warm water, similar to the sensation other animals, even people get when in a body of water? (oo I'm in a source of water, I can excrete this waste and fill up on fresh stuff, even though they might not actually drink during a soak and it might not actually be fresh/safe drinking water)
Would a tortoise be more balanced/healthy/hydrated/happy if it is handled minimally and allowed to drink/defecate/urinate at its own will rather than being encouraged by soaking?
I personally found that when I soaked one of my tortoises regularly, urates were still gritty. She was too scared, wouldn't stop flailing (some might say which is a good form of exercise), and probably didn't even calm down enough to consider drinking. Urates became smooth only after I provided a water bowl that allowed drinking to occur when the tortoise felt comfortable to do so.
I believe it has been debated whether or not and up to what part of the digestive tract nutrient absorption takes place...would soaking and scaring, essentially forcing defecation interfere with this process? Also, might sound funny/weird but are there any benefits of tortoises eating their poop? This is something else that doesn't take place if excrement comes out during soaks rather than in enclosure.
Please share your thoughts if you are reading this. Everyone appreciates when their threads are acknowledged and receive replies. Thanks in advance.