RT DOESNT LIKE WATER

[russiantortoise]

I have a Russian tortoise and I have a water dish for him but he seems to hate water. I've never seen him going into the dish to soak or just have a drink! What's going on?

 

[wellington]

Not sure. However, they have to have it. Make sure the dish is larger enough for him and easy to get in and out of. If all that is correct, then you will have to soak him every other day to two days so you know he's staying hydrated.

 

[kanalomele]

That is normal. None of mine have affection for water. They do however need it. Most of us that have Russians force them to have a soak in warm water. Depending on the age size of your tort how often they are soaked varies from once a day to once every couple of weeks.

 

[EricIvins]

You shouldn't have to force soak any Tortoise just to keep them hydrated. Clean water is all they need - They will use it when they need it........Tortoises that come from arid or seasonally rainy places get alot of their moisture from the food they eat, thus they don't take up alot of standing water.......They don't "hate" it. The animals know what it is, and what to do with it when they need to utilize it.......

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

Although tortoises do get a lot moisture from the plants they eat, they still need to drink and bathe in shallow water from time to time. It's a good idea to have a dish of fresh, shallow water available at all times so your tortoise can wade in if it wants to. Most of us see our tortoises bathing on their own only occasionally, and drinking even more rarely still, so that makes it really cool to watch them when they finally do.

Here's a picture of a wild steppe tortoise wading into shallow water in its native Central Asia:

 

[Blakem]

Although tortoises do get a lot moisture from the plants they eat, they still need to drink and bathe in shallow water from time to time. It's a good idea to have a dish of fresh, shallow water available at all times so your tortoise can wade in if it wants to. Most of us see our tortoises bathing on their own only occasionally, and drinking even more rarely still, so that makes it really cool to watch them when they finally do.

Here's a picture of a wild steppe tortoise wading into shallow water in its native Central Asia:

http://www.arkive.org/afghan-tortoise/testudo-horsfieldii/image-G24371.html

Very cool, thanks for sharing this.

 

[noved32]

I agree that Russians don't really like splashing around.. Mine would always walk through his water dish making it dirty and leaving me to change it all the time. Just the other morning I had filled his water dish with clean cold water.. He was eating and moved over to the water dish. I though crap I just cleaned it and he's going to make a mess. He instead went and put his mouth down to the water and drank!!! First time I ever seen him do this. He took a few drinks and then went under his hide. It was cool to see him drink!

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

It is cool to see them drink, isn't it? I love how they stick their beak right under the surface, and open it just a little bit. Then you can see the gulps of water traveling through their throat as they drink, sometimes for a couple minutes at a time. So cool!

 

[Happy Tortoise]

Mister T, my Russian doesn't seem to like water either. Oh well, after all they get a lot of water from certain plants they eat like prickly pear cactus, (water actually dribbles down his chin), collard greens (espacially stems) and the very very very occasional (like once every six months), the bok choi. But you still have to soak them and all to make sure they get hydrated even though they eat those

 

[RainbowDrops]

Neither does my Taco like water, I just bathe her in neck-high Luke warm water for 15/20 mins 3 times a week and she gulps away! Not too sure why I never see her going in her water dish!

 

[Jenncure]

I actually have to pull my Henry out of his warm bath, or he will stay in there for over an hour. From what I've heard, this is pretty rare for Russians though.

 

[TortoiseBoy1999]

Although tortoises do get a lot moisture from the plants they eat, they still need to drink and bathe in shallow water from time to time. It's a good idea to have a dish of fresh, shallow water available at all times so your tortoise can wade in if it wants to. Most of us see our tortoises bathing on their own only occasionally, and drinking even more rarely still, so that makes it really cool to watch them when they finally do.

Here's a picture of a wild steppe tortoise wading into shallow water in its native Central Asia:

http://www.arkive.org/afghan-tortoise/testudo-horsfieldii/image-G24371.html

Very cool

---

Mine doesn't really use her water dish. She does occasionally. But rarely ever does. She uses it mostly as a toilet

 

[JenniandLeo]

I have been leaving water in for Leo- and he went in twice the first week home.. but he hasn't been in since then (about two weeks). I figure he knows what it is if he needs it.

When I went to change it out the other day I realized the water was quite cold, even though it's sort of under the heat lamp. Does it make a difference if it's warm / cold sitting in the enclosure? I don't know how you would keep it warm otherwise.

Overall, from what I understand, it's better to have it in there than not.. even if it's just cool / room temp.. right?

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

Bump - here is another cool shot of a wild steppe tortoise. This one is drinking:

http://www.arkive.org/afghan-tortoise/testudo-horsfieldii/image-G130390.html

 

[laney]

My new girl loves it, she is so peaceful in her soak you can actually see the enjoyment in her face its weird but my other two can't wait to get out of the soak. Very rarely see them using their water dishes but on the odd occasion I catch them in it or having a sip.

 

[SBeanie]

Sky is constantly in and out of her water dish everyday, she even enjoys her "bath time" when I soak her. it's funny to watch her run through the water and get it all messy like "ha ha mom gotta clean the water again"

 

[biochemnerd808]

It seems like every RT is different. Of my 4, one hates the water (I have NEVER seen her drink, and she spends her entire soaking time trying to get out), 2 LOVE water (they seek it out in the tort fort, and really enjoy their weekly soak), and 1 is indifferent - he drinks when he is being soaked, but doesn't really seek out his water dish.

Whether they like it or not, they DO need to be soaked. I followed bad advice for a while and didn't have water in the enclosure, since they never drank from it anyway. Thankfully, someone corrected me, and now I have a pyrex pie dish in the tort fort.

BTW, you can keep substrate from being dragged in there by putting river rocks all around it, for about 5-10 inches in all directions. It's fun for the tortoises to walk across.

One of my tort girlies likes to drag her food into the water dish, and eat it there. Maybe she is part crocodile... drowning her food?

 

[rhondak]

I have only seen my RT drink or soak in his water dish in his enclosure a few times. Boris does enjoy his soaks though and I often see him take sips of water while soaking. I think he drinks out of his water dish more than I am able to see.

During the first month I had him I noticed he would only urinate while soaking but as I changed his water dish/enclosure a little and now spray his greens with water 1-2 times daily, he urinates 2-3 times weekly in his cage.

As I have read, they urinate when they have water available otherwise they hold it until they know they will have more water.

I find it so interesting, reading all the different personalities & behaviors of our tortoises.

 

[Talka]

My Russian hates water, so I started putting his food in his water dish. When he eats, he has no choice but to drink because everything is soaked.
Then I clean the dish and refill it with water for the day.