soak itself

[joeyacad]

Will a Hermanns tort soak itself? I'm asking because if you don't soak a tortoise like you should would it eventually just soak itself or when they get older do you stop soaking and let it do it independently?

 

[lismar79]

Every tort is dfferent. My sully soaks her self multi times a day by my russian hates hates hates water so I soak her every other day. She is an adult and I still soak so I know she is hydrated. Keep an eye on the urites as long as they look good your tort is hydrated well.

 

[joeyacad]

Every tort is dfferent. My sully soaks her self multi times a day by my russian hates hates hates water so I soak her every other day. She is an adult and I still soak so I know she is hydrated. Keep an eye on the urites as long as they look good your tort is hydrated well.

Their unites?

 

[lismar79]

Sorry miss type it urates not urites - best desc i found i copied from Yvonne:
The white stuff occasionally seen in the pee of a tortoise is called urates. A tortoise holds his urine, and the body re-uses the liquid. They do this because in the wild they don't know when the next drink will be available. Tortoises produce urine and urates. Urine is the liquid portion stored in the urinary bladder. Urine contains waste products and toxins that are filtered from the bloodstream. Reptiles also have one more type of excretion product, called urates or uric acid. This is the end product of protein digestion and is also stored in the urinary bladder as a creamy, off-white pasty semi-solid. In reptiles, uric acid is cleared from the bloodstream by the kidneys. When the tortoise urinates, it will pass the liquid urine and the semi-solid urates at the same time. Urates, or uric acid, is NOT a build up of excess calcium.

 

[lismar79]

These should be creamy, if you notice them becoming more solid then you need to soak more. If you do not see urates at all then your tort is hydrated well. My russians are creamy, my sully who soaks herself hardly ever passes urates

 

[joeyacad]

These should be creamy, if you notice them becoming more solid then you need to soak more. If you do not see urates at all then your tort is hydrated well. My russians are creamy, my sully who soaks herself hardly ever passes urates

Thanks this helps a lot!

 

[Leanne_1232006]

Hi sorry to jump on your post, I haven't seen any of the white stuff for weeks.
Just seen your comment that it means he is hydrated I was starting to worry.
How do I know if he is weeing without seeing the white??
Thank you x

 

[lismar79]

Hi sorry to jump on your post, I haven't seen any of the white stuff for weeks.
Just seen your comment that it means he is hydrated I was starting to worry.
How do I know if he is weeing without seeing the white??
Thank you x

They normaly will pee when you are soaking, or you will notice a glob of white in the enclosure. Kinda looks like bird poo

 

[Leanne_1232006]

I haven't seen any any where and it doesn't look like he wee's when having a soak, is a trip to the vets needed??

 

[lismar79]

I haven't seen any any where and it doesn't look like he wee's when having a soak, is a trip to the vets needed??

Not that I can think of, you probably do not see him doing it I never see my sulcata pee unless she is eating romaine ( as a treat). Since there is a lot of water in it, she will pee then because she knows she found a new source to refill. If you soak often, you are prob fine.

 

[Leanne_1232006]

Ok thank you x

 

[ditzyangeluk]

My Hermann hates me putting him ion for a soak. So he has got wise to the fact that if I find him soaking in the water, even for a few minutes, he gets away with a bath. Wise little critter eh?

 

[Jami]

Hi. Mine does a crazy little dance when soaking or just coming out of soaking when he pees. He wiggles one hind leg, then sticks his head all the way in his shell, then his tail wiggles and out comes the pee! Cutest thing EVER. If I miss it, I know he's done it cause it kind of stains the bottom of his soak dish - makes a faint mark that I have to clean with vinegar water to get it out. He pees when he has romaine too.

You'll just have to watch I guess. Some people say if you rub his plastron a little - and lightly, that will make him go. I've never had to do that tho.

Good luck!