Keeping water warm for soaks

[REXANNismyprettygirl]

I'm baaaaaaaaack Soon, very soon I will slow down with all the questions. Promise!!

How do you keep the temperature of the water warm enough during soaks?

I soaked Rexann for 20 minutes and had to scoop out water to add more warm water twice and also had to change the water once because it was so dirty and she was going to drink the dirty water.

Is that normal to have to cycle the water for warmth? Right now I am just using a large rubbermaid tote box. (its the only thing porkchop fits in!! ) I am paranoid of a URI from her getting cold.

Thanks!
Trinity

 

[Kenny]

The water shouldn't cool down enough in 20 min to be a problem(as long as he can warm up afterwards).
and I wouldn't worry about the water being dirty.

 

[REXANNismyprettygirl]

The water shouldn't cool down enough in 20 min to be a problem(as long as he can warm up afterwards).
and I wouldn't worry about the water being dirty.

How warm is warm enough do you think? I might not have started with the right temp...

 

[moswen]

i put my torts in old spring mix plastic containers, put a paper towel in and stab a few holes in the lid. that keeps the water warm for the whole soak. i'm not sure what you'd put rexann in, you could use those huge storage boxes from walmart or something... and my water temps are just slightly warmer than comfortable on my wrist, the torts never mind. every now and again i get it too hot and when i put them in they start backing up, so i just take them out and add a shot of cold water, then they're fine. putting something in the water helps hold the heat in, and the lid on top helps keep the air next to the water warmer, plus this is a great way to clear out their little noses and it's a good fight against early uri's. but that last part is just me, i'm just waaaay too paranoid about uri's and calcium!

 

[Kenny]

The water shouldn't cool down enough in 20 min to be a problem(as long as he can warm up afterwards).
and I wouldn't worry about the water being dirty.

How warm is warm enough do you think? I might not have started with the right temp...

I start with very warm(not hot) water, and let it drop to room temp (75* or so).

 

[DeanS]

With the weather cooling down now...I soak the yearlings in very warm water under their MVB twice a day. The tupperware sits flat on their basking stone.

 

[Madkins007]

I imagine this is another example of how local climate affects perceptions.

Everyone in a warm place or a warm house is thinking this is no big deal. All of us wearing sweaters or jackets indoors right now are thinking 'good question!'

I do it several ways-
- rest the tub of warm water on a heat pad
- do it in a warm room (bathroom after a shower)
- change out the water a couple times
- put a few inches of hot water in the bathtub or a big sink and float the soak tub in there. Really good when I have several animals soaking at once.

 

[sara]

I soak bert in the tub. that way he can walk around and have a shallow end or the other end thats a little deeper (but not too deep, dont want him to drown.) He likes the tub. i use very warm but not hot, it keeps for about 10 minutes, then i drain and re fill. I keep him in for about 30 min.

 

[moswen]

I imagine this is another example of how local climate affects perceptions.

Everyone in a warm place or a warm house is thinking this is no big deal. All of us wearing sweaters or jackets indoors right now are thinking 'good question!'

haha exactly! i'm actually wearing a sweater and bootie house shoes even as we speak! i mean, type...

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

We try to keep our hatchlings water warm and clean by changing them to another soak pan every few minutes for a total time of about fifteen minutes twice a day. We found that warm water helps them deficate.

 

[jensgotfaith]

I was worried about keeping the water warm for my little sulcata too. I started putting the soaking tub under his basking light. I found that it kept him warm and the water warmer longer and that he eliminated more that way than when I just cycled the water. Just a thought.

 

[REXANNismyprettygirl]

Thanks everyone!! I am going to do her next soak in the bathtub I think... Here's hoping that she doesn't pull one of her "kitchen stunts" of pooping and peeing as we go up the stairs to the bathtub haha

 

[Tom]

Even in my 80 degree reptile room the water cools pretty quickly. I've been soaking them under a heat lamp lately AND refreshing the soaking water out of a 5 gallon bucket 'O' warm water. I dump the poopy water as needed and continue the soak with clean, warm water. I usually do mine for 20-30 minutes.

 

[ticothetort2]

I keep mine under the heat lamp while soaking and change out the water as many times as he does his business. He is a hatchling though so it makes it much easier for me to move him around. I've thought of using the heat pad underneath, but the over head heat seems to work fine for now.

 

[Madkins007]

Using the tub directly is not really a bad idea, but it may not be a 'good' idea either.

They can pass Salmonellosis to us, and we can pass things like athlete's foot fungus back to them. Not a big risk, but good universal precautions would suggest that it is better to use a plastic tub floating in the tub instead of just putting the torts in your bathtub.

Of course, my main reason for not using the bathtub is that my wife would KILL me!

 

[Kristina]

I would suggest getting a Sterilite storage tub, at least 30 gallon size (less than $10 at Walmart.) You can use the tub to carry her upstairs in, and then fill the bathtub with slightly hotter water than you put in the storage tub. Add warm water to the storage tub, and let it sit in the warm water that is in the bathtub.

 

[Angi]

I use the bath tub for my boxie, but I clean it with toilet cleaner and bleach before a human uses it. That bathtub is really only used by the box turtle. Do you think that is safe? Good thread it has made me think about my temps.

 

[Kristina]

Do you think that the toilet cleaner residue is good for the Boxie? I would stop doing this immediately.

You can get a shoebox size plastic tub for $1. Or, use an empty spring mix container.

 

[moswen]

well after hearing some other ppl's replies about how they soak, i decided to go with the under the heat lamp technique, since it would waste less paper towels, and i think it's a hit:

moswen especially is takin it all in: (here dean, this one is for you!)

the spiders were loving it too, until they saw the huge giant ogre face coming at them, so they had to suck their heads back in their bodies until the huge giant ogre face left:

 

[Angi]

I do have a shoe box container, but I thought she should have space to move around. Is moving around not necessary? I scrub and rinse well and because she is really the only one that uses that bath tub I don't sanitize it very often. But if you still think the smaller container is okay I will switch.
Thanks for bringing this subject up. And cute pix!