Questions About Terracotta Saucer Water Dish

[Tom]

I have a Home Depot. But, I think I may just take Yvonne's advice.

That is fine, but be aware the russians are notorious for flipping in their water bowls. I usually agree with Yvonne's advice, but this is an exception. If she is wrong and your tortoise ends up upside down in that bowl, he could die. If you use a shallower bowl, there is no potentially dangerous downside.

Just food for thought...

 

[Buddybenj]

That is fine, but be aware the russians are notorious for flipping in their water bowls. I usually agree with Yvonne's advice, but this is an exception. If she is wrong and your tortoise ends up upside down in that bowl, he could die. If you use a shallower bowl, there is no potentially dangerous downside.

Just food for thought...

But if I fill it 1/3 the way with pebbles it should be shallow and therefore safe right?

 

[Yvonne G]

I've found babies upside down in my pebble-filled waterers and their heads are out of the water. Once you have pebbles in the bottom, the water is barely deep enough to submerge their little faces to drink.

 

[Tom]

But if I fill it 1/3 the way with pebbles it should be shallow and therefore safe right?

I've never done that, so I can't give a good answer. Its not something I would try, and I see no reason to when I can get a shallow dish and not have to worry about it.

What if he moves the pebbles? What if he's on his back, and all the wiggling separates the pebbles and allows him to sink deeper into the water? How do you keep it clean and sanitary with pebbles? My water dishes get nasty every day. I have to rinse, scrub and refill them daily. Having to clean the pebbles would add a tremendous amount of time to this otherwise simple task. And for what reason? Why not just get the right size dish?

 

[Yvonne G]

I pick up the saucer of pebbles and take it to the sink to flush it out...sometimes two or three times a day. I don't scrub, I just flush out the bad water. The small rocks are covering the whole bottom of the saucer and I've never seen them move to expose the bottom of the saucer.

If it's going to cause this big of a stink, I vote for biting the bullet and buying a more shallow saucer. They're not very expensive.