FB post advising no soaks for sulcata

[BoujeeAppa]

I've just read a post on a FB sulcata tortoise group about someone who's taken on a tortoise who already has MBD and one of the posters have said this...

"SUNLIGHT SUNLIGHT AND MORE NATURAL SUNLIGHT.. WILL NEVER BE FIXED EVER .BUT SUNLIGHT WILL FOR SURE HELP TO NOT GET WORSE.. ALSO STOP GIVING YOUR SULCATAS BATHS.. THEY LOVE THE WATER BUT IT IS NOT NATIVE TO THEM OR THEIR RESPETORY SYSTEMS... LET THEM HAVE DIRT ON THEM. MUD, SAND, DUST ITS IS ALL VERY HELPFUL TO THEM.. THEY DO NOT NOT NOT NEED BATHS"

I am just shocked 😲 to see someone advising not to give baths/soaks to sulcata tortoises. Is this something that used to be advised or am I missing something here? Everywhere I've ever read about looking after any tortoise has recommended actually no not recommended but have said that giving soaks are essential. I researched some different types and settled on a sulcata and a horsfield in the end and they all said the same regarding soaks.

I've put a comment up advising them to come here and make a profile and post about their tortoise so they can get reliable and helpful advice as it looks as though they really are trying to get the care right for their tortoise. I just really hope they do come here and you guys can chip in with much more backed up and informed advice.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

I've just read a post on a FB sulcata tortoise group about someone who's taken on a tortoise who already has MBD and one of the posters have said this...

"SUNLIGHT SUNLIGHT AND MORE NATURAL SUNLIGHT.. WILL NEVER BE FIXED EVER .BUT SUNLIGHT WILL FOR SURE HELP TO NOT GET WORSE.. ALSO STOP GIVING YOUR SULCATAS BATHS.. THEY LOVE THE WATER BUT IT IS NOT NATIVE TO THEM OR THEIR RESPETORY SYSTEMS... LET THEM HAVE DIRT ON THEM. MUD, SAND, DUST ITS IS ALL VERY HELPFUL TO THEM.. THEY DO NOT NOT NOT NEED BATHS"

I am just shocked 😲 to see someone advising not to give baths/soaks to sulcata tortoises. Is this something that used to be advised or am I missing something here? Everywhere I've ever read about looking after any tortoise has recommended actually no not recommended but have said that giving soaks are essential. I researched some different types and settled on a sulcata and a horsfield in the end and they all said the same regarding soaks.

I've put a comment up advising them to come here and make a profile and post about their tortoise so they can get reliable and helpful advice as it looks as though they really are trying to get the care right for their tortoise. I just really hope they do come here and you guys can chip in with much more backed up and informed advice.

Hello!
I believe this comes from a "sulcatas are from desert" statement. One thing is that "desert" is not a lifeless sandbox wasteland at all, the second is that sulcatas have adapted to conserve water at all costs but some of that adaptations are really trade-offs - to die from dehydration or to die from a bladder stone, for example.

 

[Tim Carlisle]

I've just read a post on a FB sulcata tortoise group about someone who's taken on a tortoise who already has MBD and one of the posters have said this...

"SUNLIGHT SUNLIGHT AND MORE NATURAL SUNLIGHT.. WILL NEVER BE FIXED EVER .BUT SUNLIGHT WILL FOR SURE HELP TO NOT GET WORSE.. ALSO STOP GIVING YOUR SULCATAS BATHS.. THEY LOVE THE WATER BUT IT IS NOT NATIVE TO THEM OR THEIR RESPETORY SYSTEMS... LET THEM HAVE DIRT ON THEM. MUD, SAND, DUST ITS IS ALL VERY HELPFUL TO THEM.. THEY DO NOT NOT NOT NEED BATHS"

I am just shocked 😲 to see someone advising not to give baths/soaks to sulcata tortoises. Is this something that used to be advised or am I missing something here? Everywhere I've ever read about looking after any tortoise has recommended actually no not recommended but have said that giving soaks are essential. I researched some different types and settled on a sulcata and a horsfield in the end and they all said the same regarding soaks.

I've put a comment up advising them to come here and make a profile and post about their tortoise so they can get reliable and helpful advice as it looks as though they really are trying to get the care right for their tortoise. I just really hope they do come here and you guys can chip in with much more backed up and informed advice.

Yeah, I saw that. Didn't you know that everyone's an expert on FB? That entire thread as well as the one posted afterwards by the same author was full of whoppers. That particular comment was coming from the same guy that promotes sand as substrate and intentionally feeds his apples and avocados (just look at his posting history).

 

[BoujeeAppa]

Feeds apples and avocados 😲,no baths, sand etc...omg the poor torts how are they even ok?

Tbh I'm only on those types of groups to see tort pics 😆 but I just had to say something when I saw that comment. I don't generally read much on there just look at pretty torts lol

 

[Tim Carlisle]

Feeds apples and avocados 😲,no baths, sand etc...omg the poor torts how are they even ok?

Tbh I'm only on those types of groups to see tort pics 😆 but I just had to say something when I saw that comment. I don't generally read much on there just look at pretty torts lol

I belong to a lot of sulcata groups. Mostly to collect ideas I never thought of before (enclosure construction, landscaping, hardscaping, and hydroponics to some degree). I come to TFO to learn what to do, and other groups to learn what NOT to do when it comes to general care. lol

 

[Tom]

I've just read a post on a FB sulcata tortoise group about someone who's taken on a tortoise who already has MBD and one of the posters have said this...

"SUNLIGHT SUNLIGHT AND MORE NATURAL SUNLIGHT.. WILL NEVER BE FIXED EVER .BUT SUNLIGHT WILL FOR SURE HELP TO NOT GET WORSE.. ALSO STOP GIVING YOUR SULCATAS BATHS.. THEY LOVE THE WATER BUT IT IS NOT NATIVE TO THEM OR THEIR RESPETORY SYSTEMS... LET THEM HAVE DIRT ON THEM. MUD, SAND, DUST ITS IS ALL VERY HELPFUL TO THEM.. THEY DO NOT NOT NOT NEED BATHS"

I am just shocked 😲 to see someone advising not to give baths/soaks to sulcata tortoises. Is this something that used to be advised or am I missing something here? Everywhere I've ever read about looking after any tortoise has recommended actually no not recommended but have said that giving soaks are essential. I researched some different types and settled on a sulcata and a horsfield in the end and they all said the same regarding soaks.

I've put a comment up advising them to come here and make a profile and post about their tortoise so they can get reliable and helpful advice as it looks as though they really are trying to get the care right for their tortoise. I just really hope they do come here and you guys can chip in with much more backed up and informed advice.

That is just a small sampling of the old wrong advice that is out in the world. Water "is not native to them or their respiratory systems..." What? Clearly this person does not understand that for 3-4 months of every year they have a heavy monsoon season with hot temperatures, frequent heavy rain, and soup-like humidity. Marshes with aquatic vegetation form, and the sulcatas march around in these seasonal ponds. Babies live hiding under thick tall vegetation on saturated ground with puddles and dampness everywhere. Can you imagine the humidity on a 100+ degree rainy day and 6 feet of thick heavy brush?

Sulcatas are NOT a desert species. They live in grassland and forest edge areas. The advice this person is giving is likely to kill tortoises through dehydration complications like impaction or constipation, or the bladder stones that Alex mentioned.