Is the lip on my water dish too high?

[Buddybenj]

I never see my tortoise go into his water bowl or drink out of it. Could it be because the lip on my water dish is too high so my tortoise never tries to go into it? I've attached a picture. It's a baby Russian tortoise by the way, so it's pretty small.

 

[JoesMum]

Replace your water dish with a terracotta plant saucer that is slightly larger than your tort. Sink it into the substrate so the rim is level with the surface.

Russians can be a bit reluctant to self soak, so you'll have to soak him yourself daily for a while yet.

 

[Buddybenj]

I already looked for terracotta plant saucers but the depth on all of them was too high. So, someone on the forum reccomended this bonsai tray. How would a terracotta plant saucer be any better?

I soak him daily.

 

[Linhdan Nguyen]

My russian (not babies) dont self soak and ive only caught them drinking water from the dish ONCE . I wouldnt worry about it too much if you soak them daily.

 

[phebe121]

Get big enough rocks and stick them in the bottom of the tray so he can get in and out

 

[phebe121]

But nothing to fit in the mouth

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

I already looked for terracotta plant saucers but the depth on all of them was too high. So, someone on the forum reccomended this bonsai tray. How would a terracotta plant saucer be any better?

I soak him daily.

Because of the lip ?
That tray should be ok, but is it smooth and slippery for the tort ?
Terracotta provides more grip for little claws.

 

[Buddybenj]

I think it's about as gripy as a terracotta saucer.

 

[JoesMum]

Terracotta saucers have sloping sides and they're not as slippy. Believe us... they work ... even with hatchlings. TFO members around the world with hundreds of years of experience between them use them!

Use a small one only a little bigger than your tort and sink it into the substrate. You don't have to fill it right up to the brim with water.

Substrate does get dragged into it, but you get used to clearing it out a couple of times a day.

 

[Tom]

I can't tell from your picture. There is no size reference. Can you do a pic with your tortoise in or near the water dish?

Also your coir looks like its bone dry. It should be damp.

 

[Buddybenj]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I will take another picture with the tortoise when he comes out of his burrow, which may be tomorrow.

 

[Buddybenj]

I added more water this morning. It feels damp, but maybe it's not damp enough. How do I tell?

 

[Yvonne G]

Even if you dig the waterer down into the substrate so the lip is even with the substrate, the sides are still straight up and down and once he gets into it, he would have a hard time getting out. With the straight up and down sides, the baby has to over balance to climb and more often than not, he ends up falling backwards landing on his back in the water.

I put a layer of pea gravel in the bottom of my plant saucer. This makes it more shallow.

 

[Buddybenj]

Maybe I took a bad picture because the dish is actually very shallow and the sides have a slight curve to them. I'll take another picture later with my tortoise when he isn't in his burrow.

 

[Gillian M]

My russian (not babies) dont self soak and ive only caught them drinking water from the dish ONCE . I wouldnt worry about it too much if you soak them daily.

Same here: I only saw Oli drinking water from his dish ONCE. But I sit and watch when he's being soaked daily: he does drink, thank GOD.

 

[Buddybenj]

Same here: I only saw Oli drinking water from his dish ONCE. But I sit and watch when he's being soaked daily: he does drink, thank GOD.

I also see my tortoise drink occasionally when he's being soaked.

 

[Gillian M]

I also see my tortoise drink occasionally when he's being soaked.

In that case, there's no need to worry, is there?

 

[JoesMum]

I added more water this morning. It feels damp, but maybe it's not damp enough. How do I tell?

The way to get substrate damp is to tip a load of water in and mix it all up with your hands so it is evenly damp throughout rather than wet.

Do it a little at a time if you're not sure.

Surface spraying helps to slow drying, but it will need to be repeated at regular intervals. The frequency depends on your local climate so we can't be exact about it.

 

[Buddybenj]

I sunk the dish a little more into the substrate so I think it's good now. But I can't figure out how to stop my enclosure from drying out quickly. The sphagnum moss and substrate get kind of dry despite me spraying it and adding water to it often. What do I do about that?

 

[Linhdan Nguyen]

Do you have a closed enclosure ?