Soaking vs watering?

SinLA

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I see people here refer to using sprinklers for their tortoises. When I soak mine, i have him in a tub with warm water, would he benefit / (like?) being showered (gently) in the afternoon with a hose? Or doing a “cool soak”? The water won’t be warm but it’s been super hot in the afternoon so I don’t know if a nice cool down is a good thing or bad? Fezzik is a ~4-5 yo Russian, outdoor enclosure, current afternoon temps are in the 90s tho he has shade and areas to dig down…
 

Sarah2020

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Soak in a high sided container is very beneficial as they drink, wee and poo however if your tortoise is large a sprinkler may help. If it is hot ensure you provide adequate shade , water and food.
They can not sit in a soggy wet flooded area so sprinkler should be occasional, try it and see how your tortoise reacts.
 

ZEROPILOT

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I use sprinklers to raise the humidity in my enclosures. Not to hydrate the tortoises.
Soaking hydrates the tortoises but does not effect the ambient humidity.
One does not replace the other.
Redfoot tortoises also benefit from sprinklers because it drops the temperature a bit and promotes activity
 
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Gillian M

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I use sprinklers to raise the humidity in my enclosures. Not to hydrate the tortoises.
Soaking hydrates the tortoises but does not effect the ambient humidity
Redfoot tortoises also benefit from sprinklers because it drops the temperature a bit and promotes activity
I do that too, as the climate of Jordan is an extremely dry one.
 

wellington

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Sprinklers is not to replace soaks. Sprinklers or misting hoses is for really hot day or to help raise humidity and cool the area the torts in.
Wet ground won't hurt a Russian. As long as it's not flooded for a long time.
 

SinLA

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Yeah not thinking to replace soaking, just wondering if it’s a smart supplement in the afternoons
 

Tom

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I see people here refer to using sprinklers for their tortoises. When I soak mine, i have him in a tub with warm water, would he benefit / (like?) being showered (gently) in the afternoon with a hose? Or doing a “cool soak”? The water won’t be warm but it’s been super hot in the afternoon so I don’t know if a nice cool down is a good thing or bad? Fezzik is a ~4-5 yo Russian, outdoor enclosure, current afternoon temps are in the 90s tho he has shade and areas to dig down…
I'm not sure what you are asking here. Soaking is good. Running sprinklers is good. Sprinkling the tortoise with water while soaking is good. Sprinkling for a cool down on a hot day is good.

Does that answer your question?
 

SinLA

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I'm not sure what you are asking here. Soaking is good. Running sprinklers is good. Sprinkling the tortoise with water while soaking is good. Sprinkling for a cool down on a hot day is good.

Does that answer your question?
yup
 

LizzyLu

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I see people here refer to using sprinklers for their tortoises. When I soak mine, i have him in a tub with warm water, would he benefit / (like?) being showered (gently) in the afternoon with a hose? Or doing a “cool soak”? The water won’t be warm but it’s been super hot in the afternoon so I don’t know if a nice cool down is a good thing or bad? Fezzik is a ~4-5 yo Russian, outdoor enclosure, current afternoon temps are in the 90s tho he has shade and areas to dig down…
I soak mine regularly, esp since they are redfoot. In addition, I set up a misting system on a timer in their enclosure. I think they like it- they come out when it’s spraying to walk through it and hunt for possible worms! Haha
 

HoosierTort

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I don’t pull any of my adult Russians or Hermanns tortoises out to soak unless they’re sick. I do run a sprinkler and at the same time I have a hose I let run and make pools in their enclosures. They come out and drink up as I have seen Russians do in the wild(much like box turtles do during rain here). I do this 2-5 times a week depending on the weather.

I will add, all my enclosures have soaking pools built out of concrete along with a few water dishes throughout their enclosures.

*****Before anyone takes my method and try’s to use it, research your climate, know your soil, know how much water your plants need in the enclosures and how much water they pull from the soil, understand that this changes throughout the year as the sun is out longer/shorter and temps rise/fall, realize you have to be on top of it every day and it’s not the “easy” method, make sure you have your enclosures setup properly to ensure the torts have free access to water at all times, realize you’ll have to clean the dishes and soaking pool daily to keep it clean and no mosquitoes lay eggs, and most of all you have to know each tortoise and their behavior. I have rather large groups and I’ve had most of my adults 13+ years. I developed this over many seasons with them and I don’t recommend this for most people.
 

Tonyo

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Soak in a high sided container is very beneficial as they drink, wee and poo however if your tortoise is large a sprinkler may help. If it is hot ensure you provide adequate shade , water and food.
They can not sit in a soggy wet flooded area so sprinkler should be occasional, try it and see how your tortoise reacts.
I have a large baby bath for my two lepards don’t like baths at all
 
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