Soaking larger Sulcatas????

[dbeilfuss]

Hi All,
I have a weird question-we just brought home our big guy (60lbs) on Sunday and he currently has a blue swimming pool as a water bowl. It is sunk into the ground and I have placed rocks and bricks for him to be able to get out of the pool. I showed him the pool with the water in it. Placed him in it to soak and he just turned around and climbed out without any struggles at all.
I fill it with clean water daily and he wants absolutely NOTHING to do with it. I am concerned that he will get dehydrated as it has been in the high 90's here in Western CO as of late. I have tried warmer water and cooler water. Not sure what to do???? Do I leave him be and let him go on his own?
Thanks!
Desiree

 

[ascott]

I don't know what size little blue pool you have, however, if you have it sunk into the ground that would present a weird incline for him to comfortably get in and out of....in my opinion.

I think that I would put the pool on the flat ground, cut away a space on the side, wide enough that he can readily breeze right in and out, but of course not down to the bottom of the pool, but more like a few inches above the bottom of the pool....then fill it and let him walk horizontally into the pool, maybe toss a hibiscus flower or two into the pool....I notice that some of the bigger guys get a little weirded out if they have to go too vertical....in my opinion.

 

[Tom]

Mine are the same way. They wanted nothing to do with those blue kiddie pools. I have some 3x5' cement mixing tubs that I use. I soak the adults about once a week in the hot summers and once a month or less during the rest of the year. They always have drinking water available.

 

[DeanS]

Aladar has a Little Tykes wading pool that he soaks in at least every other day...and once a week during winter! He loves it...for about ten minutes. I leave him in for at least half an hour...unless he 'soups' it up sooner. I lift him in and out! I won't countersink it!

 

[Tony the tank]

I soak mine in the bathtub.. I clean it before and scrub it after under the direct supervision of my wife....I keep the water temp at 95-100.. He seems to enjoy it always flipping water on his back... He drinks and poops.. I use a kitty litter scoop to remove.. Dump the water and refill.. He spends about 45-60 minutes...with no complaints... I did notice if the water drops below 75... He might head to the edge..But when it's 95-100 he heads to the deep end

 

[dbeilfuss]

Aladar has a Little Tykes wading pool that he soaks in at least every other day...and once a week during winter! He loves it...for about ten minutes. I leave him in for at least half an hour...unless he 'soups' it up sooner. I lift him in and out! I won't countersink it!

So I shouldn't be worried about the fact that he isn't drinking and soaking daily? Is this mainly for the little guys? So he is ok going a couple days between drinks/soakings?

I am going to go ahead and cut out an area for him to climb in and out of. I picked the pool up at a yard sale last month for 2 dollars....so no biggie if it gets trashed right now. I am still in search of the "perfect" water/soaking container for him. I did find a shower enclosure floor (unused) that was approx 3x 4'. I need to go back and see if they still have it.

Thanks for the advice everyone! I really appreciate it.

 

[Yvonne G]

I don't soak Dudley (100lb+) at all. I have a large dumpster/toter garbage lid that is countersunk down to ground level. He drinks from it and occasionally sits in it. His urates are the consistency of white pea soup.

I fixed a nice, deep toter bottom into the ground for the Aldabran tortoises because their toter lid was too small for them to get into, and they avoided it like the plague. So they just have to make do with drinks and not soaks.

 

[EricIvins]

They know what water is and how to utilize it.........Most Sulcatas prefer mud over standing water any day.........Soaking is really not necessary, having access to water is........Soaking doesn't mean a hydrated Tortoise, it can actually have a reverse affect in some instances.........

 

[Tom]

They know what water is and how to utilize it.........Most Sulcatas prefer mud over standing water any day.........Soaking is really not necessary, having access to water is........Soaking doesn't mean a hydrated Tortoise, it can actually have a reverse affect in some instances.........

... says the man who lives where the humidity is always high and it rains a lot, all year long.

I politely ask you to consider that what works in your environment, might not work as well for other people elsewhere, in more dry environments. There are a number of reasons why a tortoise with access to water might not use it. Mine had a kiddie pool with a door cut out and filled with clean fresh water and they refused to have anything to do with it. I switched to pizza dough tubs (approx. 36x20x3" deep), sunk into the ground and they drink out of those regularly. In all my years, I have never seen a case of a tortoise that was less hydrated due to regular soaks.

 

[Laura]

run a hose.. mine love that and the puddles.. but i have garbage can lids set into the ground and they use those when they want. I also have a cemented depression they can use..
They get a lot of what they need from thier food.. but it should always be available to them.

 

[Jacqui]

Mine ignore their fresh water, both the hose when it's on and the garbage can buried lid. however, they do love their mud bath and I wonder how much they actually drink of the water while in there.

 

[dbeilfuss]

Mine ignore their fresh water, both the hose when it's on and the garbage can buried lid. however, they do love their mud bath and I wonder how much they actually drink of the water while in there.

Funny that you mention their mud baths....I got home from work this afternoon and was COVERED in mud. It has not rained....so he must have made himself a backyard spa retreat. To refresh him after his day at the spa I gave him a bath....in which he finally DRANK! A nice long warm(er) bath than the hose upstairs. Carrying the 60lb tort upstairs for a bath really made me consider putting the house on the market!!!

HE IS HEAVY!!!!!!!!!

I may have to invest in an outdoor tub to bath him in from now on!

 

[dmarcus]

I have a small kiddie pool that I cut a small section out of and sunk it flush in the ground and my Sulcata was able to get in and out with no problem. Some days I would go out and the water would be clean and other days I had to change it out 2-3 times because it was so dirty.

 

[Jacqui]

. To refresh him after his day at the spa I gave him a bath....in which he finally DRANK! A nice long warm(er) bath than the hose upstairs. Carrying the 60lb tort upstairs for a bath really made me consider putting the house on the market!!!

HE IS HEAVY!!!!!!!!!

I may have to invest in an outdoor tub to bath him in from now on!

Would be cheaper to just run a hose from a faucet in the house to the outside.

 

[Livingstone]

I just want to comment that the water temp has everything to do with how much they like it. While livingstone is small comparitively speaking with the posters in this thread, I have notice that she is much happier in warm water soaks like the 95-100 that another member has mentioned. She starts scratching like crazy toward the end of her bath as the water temp drops, and will stop scratching if I come and freshen it up with some more warm water.

One a side note she is 2 years old and this is her second bath tub. Ill post a pic tommorrow when she gets her bath.