So I know a nice soak for a Red Foot does a world of good but at what point do you need to be concerned about shell rot? About a week and a half ago I moved to a new place and Tortellini's indoor enclosure got disassembled and relocated. When I set it back up I switched her substrate from peat moss (it was just too hard to keep the humidity up and so dusty!) to mulch and I also upgraded her water dish to a much bigger one. Now she has the option of settling down in the dish for a good soak whenever she wants to and she's been enjoying it thoroughly. The thing is though, the water dish is now her go-to sleeping spot. Used to be, she'd sleep in one of her hides or camp out under her MVB light but not anymore. The dish is partially under the MVB so the water does stay warm during the day but she's even been staying in the water over night. When the light goes out and I see she's still soaking I'll pull her out and set her on the mulch but she just climbs right back in. She's still her normal active self when awake, happy to tromp around her cage rearranging her decorations and emptying her food dish, so I don't think she's feeling off or anything. Her cage is a closed chamber and with the mulch in there the ambient humidity has been staying a constant 80% so I don't think she's desperate for moisture. I also spray down her carapace at least once a day with a spray bottle. I don't know, maybe she just doesn't like the rough texture of the mulch for a bed.
What do you guys think? Could she be self soaking to the point where she could end up with shell rot? I mean when she stays in overnight and for naps, that puts her at over 12 hours a day sitting in water. I've been checking her plastron every day because shell rot isn't something I've had to deal with yet and if it does happen I want to catch it early. Am I just being paranoid?
What do you guys think? Could she be self soaking to the point where she could end up with shell rot? I mean when she stays in overnight and for naps, that puts her at over 12 hours a day sitting in water. I've been checking her plastron every day because shell rot isn't something I've had to deal with yet and if it does happen I want to catch it early. Am I just being paranoid?
Maybe the novelty of the new pool is starting to fade. It figures that the first day in nearly two weeks she forgoes sleeping in the water is the day I decide to tell other people about it 
