Opinion’s please

[Maggie3fan]

I’ve decided I’m going to put some big stones in there to stop her actually going into it lol, it’ll just be for drinking😊

She actually will want to put her whole head under, so she will mostly get in the dish...I will share another story with you..but you 2 newcomers are getting/giving some crappy advice to each other. We recommend the terra cotta saucers because numerous of us had small tortoises do what I described in post #59...and ours died, I had 2 tortoises and 3 box turtles upside-down and dead. It's a freakin horrid experience and I imagine a real sh*ty experience for the animals...and mine died upside-down on all those rocks I put in the dish, they died because I was stubborn and wanted to do it my way. You wanna do exactly what I did.You are being stubborn like me and that tort 'could' get upside down and die.
Please pay attention and use the experience of collective members here, whose animals went thru what I described...and they are dead now...the animals not the members...

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

She actually will want to put her whole head under, so she will mostly get in the dish...I will share another story with you..but you 2 newcomers are getting/giving some crappy advice to each other. We recommend the terra cotta saucers because numerous of us had small tortoises do what I described in post #59...and ours died, I had 2 tortoises and 3 box turtles upside-down and dead. It's a freakin horrid experience and I imagine a real sh*ty experience for the animals...and mine died upside-down on all those rocks I put in the dish, they died because I was stubborn and wanted to do it my way. You wanna do exactly what I did.You are being stubborn like me and that tort 'could' get upside down and die.
Please pay attention and use the experience of collective members here, whose animals went thru what I described...and they are dead now...the animals not the members...

Were these torts babies by any chance tho? Because this dish isn’t even big enough for squirt to fit her entire body without the stones, let alone with, I’m not sure how she’d even go about flipping herself in this but I definitely hear what you’re saying and will take it on board

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Were these torts babies by any chance tho? Because this dish isn’t even big enough for squirt to fit her entire body without the stones, let alone with, I’m not sure how she’d even go about flipping herself in this but I definitely hear what you’re saying and will take it on board

Also I’m not talking pebble stones, I’m talking fist sized rocks haha

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

For adult tortoises the risk of flipping over is minimal, that's true, but not zero. But a small dish isn't very useful and a large one poses the risk.

Also, some tortoises ignore "just a water dish" and don't drink from them on purpose. But when they can get into the dish - they drink.

So a terracota saucer looks like a "win-win" to me.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

For adult tortoises the risk of flipping over is minimal, that's true, but not zero. But a small dish isn't very useful and a large one poses the risk.

Also, some tortoises ignore "just a water dish" and don't drink from them on purpose. But when they can get into the dish - they drink.

So a terracota saucer looks like a "win-win" to me.

Don’t me me wrong, it’s definitely not small, just don’t think she’d quite fit her entire bod in there haha, she’s always used her current water dish that acts as just a water dish so I’m hopeful she’d happily use this to drink, we’ll definitely be observing closely, if for whatever reason this doesn’t work for her water dish, I’ll place it on top of the slate she has and she can use it as a cute feeding station lol and I’ll add a saucer instead😊

 

[mojo_1]

I just put the rocks in there so mojo doesn't have as high of a climb to get out. When he gets bigger the stones will be gone. @Maggie3fan I don't disagree with you at all. I by no means have recommended putting the stones in the water dish to anyone. But I do recommend the terracotta saucer all the time.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

I just put the rocks in there so mojo doesn't have as high of a climb to get out. When he gets bigger the stones will be gone. @Maggie3fan I don't disagree with you at all. I by no means have recommended putting the stones in the water dish to anyone. But I do recommend the terracotta saucer all the time.

I’ll definitely observe how she acts with the new dish and gauge if it works for it’s purpose of just being a hydration station lol, but definitely open to having to put a saucer in instead😊

 

[mojo_1]

I’ll definitely observe how she acts with the new dish and gauge if it works for it’s purpose of just being a hydration station lol, but definitely open to having to put a saucer in instead😊

The saucer i have is to big, but for whatever reason the person who stocks the shelves at Lowe's has something against the 8" saucer because they're all broken all the time.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

The saucer i have is to big, but for whatever reason the person who stocks the shelves at Lowe's has something against the 8" saucer because they're all broken all the time.

Yeah it’d be nice if this dish works because it’ll allow her even more floor space😊lol whenever I’ve passed terracotta sauces in stores they’re all smashed too😂

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

@Maggie3fan @mojo_1 @Alex and the Redfoot Im curious what guys might think of this dish for water?

 

[mojo_1]

@Maggie3fan @mojo_1 @Alex and the Redfoot Im curious what guys might think of this dish for water?

I'm afraid that surface will not be porous enough for the tort to get good traction to get out. In any event.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

I'm afraid that surface will not be porous enough for the tort to get good traction to get out. In any event.

Fair enough, even with big stones? It definitely wouldn’t be deep enough to be a drowning hazard at her size, but is it more about if she were to some how flip, not being able to flip herself back? I’ve seen a few people with what look like shallow plastic type ponds here, they appear quite smooth texture wise, so I’m curious how it’s made safe?

 

[mojo_1]

Fair enough, even with big stones? It definitely wouldn’t be deep enough to be a drowning hazard at her size, but is it more about if she were to some how flip, not being able to flip herself back? I’ve seen a few people with what look like shallow plastic type ponds here, they appear quite smooth texture wise, so I’m curious how it’s made safe?

This is the reason everyone here or most use the terracotta saucers. And try to avoid the rocks. It's like what I imagine raising a toddler would be like, you just have to make everything over safe.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

This is the reason everyone here or most use the terracotta saucers. And try to avoid the rocks. It's like what I imagine raising a toddler would be like, you just have to make everything over safe.

Yeah it does feel like baby proofing😂I’ll definitely hold off on that dish then, see how she acts with that other new one we have and go from there, if that one works for her maybe this one would too lol, we’ll see, still open to getting a terracotta saucer instead😊

 

[Lyn W]

This definitely makes me concerned, I’m worried she’s never had the ability to roam enough, she gets diarrhoea more than she should(I mean never is the goal right😞)it’s improved a lot since improving her diet but I’ve always been aware it’s not normal her poop isn’t always healthy, I’ve tried offering her some dried tortoise herbs in with her salad which also helps but she doesn’t always eat it, she walks with her shell completely off the ground so I don’t have a current concern for MBD? That’s certainly something concerning me down the line now though😣

Having said all that about needing to roam that must be in a safe enclosure - the bigger the better. Don't let your relative be tempted to let the tort roam the house - floor level is colder than room temp. and full of potential hazards that could kill her - human and pet hair, small objects, dust bunnies, chemicals, risk of being stood on, kicked or crushed in doors, getting entangled in wires and choked or electrocuted if bitten into etc.
There are lots of ideas in the Enclosures section for giving the tort a safe home.
Some people use raised upvc garden beds similar to this but double to get the 4 x 8 feet size needed.

That was posted by a US member (Lifetime brand) for a different species, but there may be similar and bigger may be available in the UK (no humidifier needed)

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Having said all that about needing to roam that must be in a safe enclosure - the bigger the better. Don't let your relative be tempted to let the tort roam the house - floor level is colder than room temp. and full of potential hazards that could kill her - human and pet hair, small objects, dust bunnies, chemicals, risk of being stood on, kicked or crushed in doors, getting entangled in wires and choked or electrocuted if bitten into etc.
There are lots of ideas in the Enclosures section for giving the tort a safe home.
Some people use raised upvc garden beds similar to this but double to get the 4 x 8 feet size needed.

That was posted by a US member (Lifetime brand) for a different species, but there may be similar and bigger may be available in the UK (no humidifier needed)

Aw yeah don’t worry she’s always supervised if she’s out having a bit of exercise, she’ll never be allowed to just free roam, if she’s out when it’s a little too cool its when we have to clean her out, we’ll always be as quick as we can and have the heating on full blast with a blow heater in the room though lol. We decided to go with an 8 by 4 viv setup but I’m wanting to have a go at experimenting on my own with a tent style extension down the line, to give her that much needed floor space, so the more Inspo people want to send of those the better too, I’m sure it’ll come in handy😊I love the look of that base!!

 

[Lyn W]

Aw yeah don’t worry she’s always supervised if she’s out having a bit of exercise, she’ll never be allowed to just free roam, if she’s out when it’s a little too cool its when we have to clean her out, we’ll always be as quick as we can and have the heating on full blast with a blow heater in the room though lol. We decided to go with an 8 by 4 viv setup but I’m wanting to have a go at experimenting on my own with a tent style extension down the line, to give her that much needed floor space, so the more Inspo people want to send of those the better too, I’m sure it’ll come in handy😊I love the look of that base!!

It all comes as a kit - but is only 4 x 4 as it is. Two of those kits would be great if you could find a way of connecting them.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

It all comes as a kit - but is only 4 x 4 as it is. Two of those kits would be great if you could find a way of connecting them.

I love it! One alone would work great as an extension to her new 8 by 4

 

[Megatron's Mom]

It all comes as a kit - but is only 4 x 4 as it is. Two of those kits would be great if you could find a way of connecting them.

Just use Gorilla tape to connect them. This was when I had them separated for each tortoise.

 

[Lyn W]

Just use Gorilla tape to connect them. This was when I had them separated for each tortoise.

That would work and I suppose you could remove or not use the middle sides to allow a tort access to the whole 4 x 8.