Is sanitizing water bowls really that important becuse i just usually throw away the substrete that has gotten dragged in to the water dish and rinse the water dish under a fosset and then refill. Is this bad? i mean they drink out of puddles and ponds in nature.
Sanitizing water bowl
- Thread starter yay14
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Herman_WA
Active Member
Usually I just take it out and scrub it (before I switched conditioners.) because it had this weird slimy buildup.
But since I switched to the Tera cotta dish I haven’t had to clean it yet because I just got it. We'll see what the others have to say...
But since I switched to the Tera cotta dish I haven’t had to clean it yet because I just got it. We'll see what the others have to say...
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I don't sanitize mine
Just soap and watef
Just soap and watef
Just a rinse & scrub every once in awhile here. Definitely not daily.
I use terracotta to
I kinda felt like it was slippery on the sides of the dish but i am not sure if thats the slime thing you are talking about. Also i think that slimy thing could be algie and i saw a post by @Yvonne G that she never bother to scrub that stuff of and she to just rinses so i guess i will keep doing that to. Did that slimy thing look like something becuse in my bowl you could not see anything just kind of feel it.
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Definitely wipe off the slime and let the bowl air dry.
Slime isnt good.
Ok i have now washed it of under hot water wiped it down with paper towels then washed it of with more hot water again. Not sure if what i felt even was that slime thing but if it was it's deffiantly gone now. But so this is all i really need to to rinse and refill with the occasional wipedown with paper towells?
Herman_WA
Active Member
I usually couldn't see it but there were a few times where I had forgotten to wash it and it got pretty gross. There was like little rings and it started to turn brown-ish.
Don't worry! I wash it more often now!
My dish has these circles in the bottom to, Is that something i should be worried about? i tried scrubbing them of with soap and a toothbrsuh but that did nothing
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Ok i am probably going to start scrubbing the water dish with soap and water once a week so that incase that thing i fealt was that slimy thing it wont come back.
But my questions are can my tortoise been affected from me not scrubbing the water bowl and only rinsing and refilling for the last 10 months. I have not really noticeed anything wrong with the water bowl like the slimy thing until now so everything should be fine right as long as i just start srubbing with soap maybe once a week from this point forward? Also those circles in the bottom of his water dish those are only mineral deposits right or are they something else? Also should i start scrubbing his food dish with soap to i have also just rinsed it of and kind of cleaned it of with my thumb while the water is running. Is that fine or should i also start soap scrubbing that. I have not seen anything wrong with his food dish i am just wondering incase.
But my questions are can my tortoise been affected from me not scrubbing the water bowl and only rinsing and refilling for the last 10 months. I have not really noticeed anything wrong with the water bowl like the slimy thing until now so everything should be fine right as long as i just start srubbing with soap maybe once a week from this point forward? Also those circles in the bottom of his water dish those are only mineral deposits right or are they something else? Also should i start scrubbing his food dish with soap to i have also just rinsed it of and kind of cleaned it of with my thumb while the water is running. Is that fine or should i also start soap scrubbing that. I have not seen anything wrong with his food dish i am just wondering incase.
OMG... You guys would flip out if you saw my water bowls...
There is no need to scrub or sanitize the bowls. Look up acquired immunity.
Daily, I dump out the water bowl, wipe it out with my fingers, rinse, sink it back into the substrate and refill. If it is full of substrate, and my substrate needs more water, I dump it back into the substrate. If my substrate is already damp enough, I remove the substrate pieces and put them back in the enclosure, then dump the dirty water into a bucket and then use the bucket form all the enclosure to water my raised beds that grow tortoise food.
Most of my bowls have algae in them. I don't mind this as the algae uses up nutrients and adds oxygen to the water. This is admittedly unnecessary and inconsequential, but it does no harm. In my outdoor enclosures, I dump the water out, rinse any debris out with the hose, sink the water bowl or tub back down, and refill.
If food bowls are dry and clean, I don't wash them either. If they get dirty from Mazuri, or if the tortoises pee or poo in them, then I wash them out and let them sun dry, but I'm not using soap or disinfectants on them.
There is no need to scrub or sanitize the bowls. Look up acquired immunity.
Daily, I dump out the water bowl, wipe it out with my fingers, rinse, sink it back into the substrate and refill. If it is full of substrate, and my substrate needs more water, I dump it back into the substrate. If my substrate is already damp enough, I remove the substrate pieces and put them back in the enclosure, then dump the dirty water into a bucket and then use the bucket form all the enclosure to water my raised beds that grow tortoise food.
Most of my bowls have algae in them. I don't mind this as the algae uses up nutrients and adds oxygen to the water. This is admittedly unnecessary and inconsequential, but it does no harm. In my outdoor enclosures, I dump the water out, rinse any debris out with the hose, sink the water bowl or tub back down, and refill.
If food bowls are dry and clean, I don't wash them either. If they get dirty from Mazuri, or if the tortoises pee or poo in them, then I wash them out and let them sun dry, but I'm not using soap or disinfectants on them.
Omg, that's what I do, dump, wipe with my hand and fill.
I never could figure out how all those mud holes the wild tortoises drink out of would ever get sanitized lol.
The only time I sanitize anything is when it is going to be exposed to more than one of my tortoises (or vice versa), and I try to minimize that sort of sharing as much as is possible....
Jamie
Jamie
I do exactly the same thing. I also have indention's around the pens, with cement in the bottom, fill with a hose, scrub off with my fingers. They eat their own poop for petes sake.
My tortoise eats his own crap so I don't worry about sanitizing too much.
This is an important point that I failed to mention. For people who have multiple tortoise enclosures and multiple species, I do NOT switch bowls from enclosure to enclosure. Each enclosure has its own dedicated set of bowls and utensils.
If you let it all evaporate and dry out, then yes, you'll get mineral deposits, but that should never happen. It should be fresh water every day.
The algae is green or dark green and takes a long time to grow. The slime you feel is probably bacteria.
Can we get a pic of the Slimy Thing? 
Curiosity is killing me.
Just kidding.
I change the water and wash out my tortoise bowls every three days or so unless he has pooped in it. I just do a little scrub with plain water and a brush.
Curiosity is killing me.Just kidding.
I change the water and wash out my tortoise bowls every three days or so unless he has pooped in it. I just do a little scrub with plain water and a brush.
