soakings?

[RB and Sally]

We have a Sulcata Tortoise as of 08-29-15

First of all I would like to thank you soooo much for Poop_Talk 101 how helpful was the information you have shared in the past about the white powdery substance. YIKES! and then ahhhh relief! thank you... Gave her some banana for the 1st time yesterday and thought that is what caused it, then reading about bananas after reading about poop, maybe not the greatest treat after all.

Question about soaking?? The previous owners said nothing to us about soaking. Is it too late to start? She seems to love the sprinkler, for awhile. When she tires of it she moves through it and then will come back through it. We have only done this with her a few times. During this 1st week. And I think she has just in the last day found her drinking dish, (right next to her den) I did not know their eyesight was not so good.

 

[Gillian M]

A very warm welcome to the forum.

Please check different thread on soaking a tortoise, like:

http:/www.tortoiseforum.org/soaking.tortoises.

Hopefully, this will help you.

 

[RB and Sally]

Thank you for the fast response, and it seems to be a "it depends" answer. I will try it as I see that there is not harm, and let her decide if she like it or not... thank you! (The link did not work)

 

[Jodie]

What size is your tortoise? Little ones need to be soaked more than big ones. Urates should be creamy not powdery. If the urates were dry, I would soak at least a couple times a week until they look more like toothpaste.
Welcome to the forum.

 

[Speedy-1]

I don't think it can ever be too late to start . Speedy is over a year old and gets soaked (rehydrated) for an hour every day . I often find him in his water dish when he is outside , so he must like it .

 

[RB and Sally]

hey Jodie... thank you too...!! After my panicked state of the Urates, I did go back, and under closer inspection it was thick and creamy like toothpaste, (thank you for that visual every time I go to brush my teeth now )
She is about 18" front to back of shell. She is a big boned gal, she is at least 17 years old from what we know.
I will put a large pan down into the ground for her and see if she wants to go for a dip!
About 2 inches of water?

 

[RB and Sally]

I don't think it can ever be too late to start . Speedy is over a year old and gets soaked (rehydrated) for an hour every day . I often find him in his water dish when he is outside , so he must like it .

I am going to give it a try, maybe I can get some shots of her doing the tortoise paddle and post them too...

 

[Speedy-1]

I am going to give it a try, maybe I can get some shots of her doing the tortoise paddle and post them too...

That is funny , because some of the members with larger torts use the "kiddie pools" for soaking them !

 

[Jodie]

hey Jodie... thank you too...!! After my panicked state of the Urates, I did go back, and under closer inspection it was thick and creamy like toothpaste, (thank you for that visual every time I go to brush my teeth now )
She is about 18" front to back of shell. She is a big boned gal, she is at least 17 years old from what we know.
I will put a large pan down into the ground for her and see if she wants to go for a dip!
About 2 inches of water?

That's a big girl. several inches of water, 4-5 probably. You want it to come up the shell, but low enough it is easy to keep her head above water. As long as urates are good (sorry about the visual)and she self soaks, you probably don't need too. Ponds for these guys can be tricky. If they can't get in and out easily, they won't use it. Would love to see pics of her. I am fostering a 45 pound male. He is great. We are really enjoying having him.

 

[Yvonne G]

My Dudley has the lid from a garbage toter as his waterer. I clean it out every morning and as soon as Dudley hears the water running he comes over, gets a drink then sits in the lid and pees, dirtying up the water with urates and sometimes poop. So I go back in an hour or so and clean it out again.

 

[dmmj]

never too late to start soaking but at that size you want something that the tortoise can climb into into on it's own strength the garbage can lid sounds like a pretty good idea sulcatas love water

 

[RB and Sally]

WOW all great advice... thank you all... maybe I will have a "walmart moment" and see if the still have pools, I can build her a heavy duty ramp with "shell rails" to stop her from tipping from one side or the other... wonder if I should make it a slick surface, and make it a slip and slide, she would be the envy of all the other tortoises in the neighbor hood... they's all be here playing all the time... okay... I will stop... I am just kidding about the slip and slide. That is my humor. I think she laughs at me a lot.

 

[dmmj]

she will need traction to get in and out easily. You could always take a giant kiddie pool put a hole in the side cut the side so she can get in and out on her own

 

[Big Charlie]

Charlie is close to your sulcata's age. We don't soak him. You can provide a pool and let her decide if she wants to use it. He also likes to walk through the sprinklers. On hot days, I spray him with the hose. Since you are in a hot, dry area, she probably needs more soaking than if you were in a humid area.

 

[Tom]

Due to the unknown history and the urates, I would soak this tortoise every other day for a good month, then taper off to a couple of times a week.

To properly soak you will need a large, tall sided opaque tub of some sort for this. I have large cement mixing tubs or horse troughs for my bigger sulcatas like yours.

Having water out for them in addition to this is great too, but not a substitute. There are many reasons why they might choose to not drink from whatever vessel you are offering. Soaking them ensures that they stay hydrated and get what they need, and it does no harm if they really didn't need it, except maybe to your back as you lift them in and out of the soaking tub…

 

[Gillian M]

Thank you for the fast response, and it seems to be a "it depends" answer. I will try it as I see that there is not harm, and let her decide if she like it or not... thank you! (The link did not work)

Terribly sorry.

 

[RB and Sally]

Terribly sorry.

No No you were awesome... you got me in the right direction... do not be sorry... be happy!!!

 

[RB and Sally]

Well I want to thank everyone for their help yesterday... I have never seen a Sally drink sooo much. I found her a pool yesterday evening and today (even thought overcasts in Phx, AZ... YES OVERCAST), she took a dip.
I let her play and splash around until she started to look up over the sides then I lifted her out. So, it is never too late to start soaking a tortoise is my lesson learned. I also now know that I have a very valuable resource in all you who take the time and respond to us newbies! I'm pretty sure Sally thanks you too!

 

[AzAngel]

Welcome to the forum. I live in the Valley as well. Looking forward to some cooler weather.

 

[RB and Sally]

Thank you... I am glad I found this. We acquired this Tortoise just over a week ago... who knew about soaking, or what the heck is that white stuff... and and and and... still trying to figure out diet. Hibiscus flowers, she likes... I cut the pool I bought and made a bridge for her to cross over into it, I will see how she feels about it tomorrow... thanks for the welcome