Soaking your Greek

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mommytoeandj

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Hello again! We have been soaking our little Grassy every day or two, but she has yet to make any poo or pee in the water. Is that normal? I keep reading about how other people's torts make a mess in their water, but ours just seems content to sit there a few minutes, then she starts trying to climb out. She has solid poos in her enclosure that are easy to pick out from the substrate. She is only one and half months old.
Thanks!
 

GBtortoises

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If she is defecating within her enclosure on a regular basis she simply may not have to when placed in the water. While it is common for some tortoises to do so, it's not a guarantee that all will. It's nothing to be concerned with as long as she is going on a regular basis elsewhere.
Urinating in water, once a tortoise has drank again is not a guarantee but usually much more common of an occurence. Tortoises will usually not expel liquid wastes until shortly after they have replenished themselves. It's sort of a built failsafe instinct to guard against dehydration. There is a chance that your tortoise is drinking without expelling liquid wastes shortly after because she is slightly dehydrated. That could be an indicator that her environment is too dry. But that all depends on how your keeping her in terms of substrate moisture and ambient humidity. Based on what you wrote it appears that she is getting enough access to drinking water. If you feel that the moisture and humidity levels are adequate then you may not have anything to worry about and she may be urinating much later, after going back into her enclosure. Just always keep in mind that small young tortoises don't have the body mass that larger ones do and dehydration can become an issue much more rapidly. It's always something to watch for, especially when they're small.
 
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