Sanitary question

[Raluca_Schachter]

Hello everybody! I have a Russian (just got her 2 days ago). She's happy and very curious and exploring the patio she stays on. During night she sleeps in her tank, on coconut fiber. Since my family and I are also sharing teh patio, I was wondering which would be the safest and easiest way to keep the patio clean and safe for everybody. (I have a 7 year old that runs barefoot all over..) I clean the droppings right away and hose down with water, I even sprayed some natural, non-toxic Clean Well sanitizer on teh messier poops and hosed down but it would be a pain in the butt to do this every day, several times a day!
Any suggestions are highly appreciated!
PS I noticed she usually defecates in the morning and then not until the next day...
Thank you!

 

[Laurie]

Honestly, I wouldn't let her run loose on your patio, can you make her her own closed off section?

 

[Jacqui]

I am not seeing why there should be a big problem. Are any of you eating off the patio floor or food items off the floor? If your picking up the feces (and if you want to clean that spot) and hosing down the patio during the day, you cleaner then most places we take our children to and never give sanitation a thought. Does the sun shine on this patio? Sun shine will help, too.

 

[Laurie]

I normally would not have a problem with it either. It was the mentioning of a barefoot child running around. Bare feet always give me the heebie jeebies! Because, they run around barefoot, then come inside, put their feet on the couch, get in bed etc. I work in a hospital and I always cringe when I see patients barefoot, I don't even want to begin to explain some of the stuff we step in in the hospital and then of course walk the halls, cafeteria, etc.

 

[Jacqui]

I normally would not have a problem with it either. It was the mentioning of a barefoot child running around. Bare feet always give me the heebie jeebies! Because, they run around barefoot, then come inside, put their feet on the couch, get in bed etc. I work in a hospital and I always cringe when I see patients barefoot, I don't even want to begin to explain some of the stuff we step in in the hospital and then of course walk the halls, cafeteria, etc.

I guess it doesn't bother me, because I run around barefoot so much inside and out. More as a kid, because these days I am turning into a wimp. The only time it would bother me, would be if I was proving to somebody that I can indeed put my foot in my mouth.

 

[Raluca_Schachter]

Laurie and Jacqui - thanks for your reply, it sure helps knowing what other people would do in this situation, considering I'm a newbie when it comes to tortoise pets.

I'm a natural health practitioner and this helps me figure out the most obvious routes pathogens could harm us. Although I let my kid run around barefoot around the house, patio, grass, etc (NOT in a hospital or public toilet, or any crowded city area - HUGE difference) we are cautious about it - washing hands, feet, natural sanitizer, etc..We used to do it before we had the pet anyway..
Then I was thinking this morning how can I minimize the effort of cleaning every dropping...(since I don't want to stress everybody in the house about it)
Baking soda and vinegar are natural non toxic excellent cleaners but I don't want to harm the tortoise..Yes, half of the patio gets full sun but she defecates in the shady areas...Well, I guess I have to research the cleaning aspect more..The tortoise is SUPER happy to be outside, every time we put it in the tank she wants out..she only sleeps there and she's ok with that. She's very curious and looks and gets into everything, and she's a cutie

 

[NudistApple]

Tortoises will very often poop during a soak, so to avoid the whole thing you could get her a little dedicated soaking basin, put it on the patio, and give her a good long soak each morning. After she does her business, you can let her out worry free. (plus she gets extra hydration from her soak!)

 

[Raluca_Schachter]

Tortoises will very often poop during a soak, so to avoid the whole thing you could get her a little dedicated soaking basin, put it on the patio, and give her a good long soak each morning. After she does her business, you can let her out worry free. (plus she gets extra hydration from her soak!)

Cool idea! I actually tried my very first soak today... But she stayed in there only for 2-3 minutes and then wanted out...Are Russians ok with soaking every day? I just put her in the shallow water..do I have to make her shell wet too?

 

[NudistApple]

The general suggestion is to make it deep enough so that the water comes up to where their two shells meet. Russians aren't really a water-loving tortoise, but as long as she is warm it won't hurt her, and that way the poop stays off of your deck.