Using terrarium liner to raise water dish

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CtTortoiseMom

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Leia completely fills her water dishes with substrate and I empty and refill them about 5 times a day. So I was going to use a terrarium liner as a border between the substrate and dish while also raising the dish a bit. Before I do I wanted to make sure that I got a good and safe brand that no one has ever had a problem with.
Zilla green terrarium liner from Petco. Bad? Good?

Also has anyone else had this problem? If so, how did you fix it?
 

GBtortoises

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I don't keep water dishes in the tortoise's enclosures. I take the tortoises out and "soak" them to allow them to drink. Less mess, less bodily wastes spread around, less mold potential, less maintenance. Better for me and the tortoises. That's how I fix it.
 

Madkins007

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I keep the dish in the habitat 24/7 so they can drink whenever they want, and it is sunk to the level of the substrate for easy access.

You can keep it cleaner in several ways-
- by using a substrate like cypress mulch that does not drag along as much (this is what I am doing now)
- positioning the water dish away from a corner or wall so 'patrolling' tortoises do not walk through it all the time. (I've done this in my old, large, indoor habitat and it helped a lot)
- using pebbles, flat tiles, or something near the dish to make a sort of 'patio'
 

CtTortoiseMom

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Madkins007 said:
I keep the dish in the habitat 24/7 so they can drink whenever they want, and it is sunk to the level of the substrate for easy access.

You can keep it cleaner in several ways-
- by using a substrate like cypress mulch that does not drag along as much (this is what I am doing now)
- positioning the water dish away from a corner or wall so 'patrolling' tortoises do not walk through it all the time. (I've done this in my old, large, indoor habitat and it helped a lot)
- using pebbles, flat tiles, or something near the dish to make a sort of 'patio'

Is your water dish large enough for your tortoise to soak in? I was wondering if I should put in a smaller dish since I give her daily soaks. Thanks for the feedback.
 

Kristina

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They can't drink easily unless them can get IN the dish. You actually want the dish to be sunk down in the substrate, rather than raised above it.

Put the dish toward the center of the habitat, out away from the walls and that minimizes them walking through it. However - daily cleaning of the water dish is part of having tortoise. That is just how it is.
 

methos75

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I have a large soaking/drinking dish for my Redfoots and I have found that spreading rock around it works best to keep the water clean. They also seem to like the heat the rocks absorb, and just lounge on them.
 

PeanutbuttER

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Your choice of substrate will also make a difference here. Cypress for Katanga is a lot less likely to get drug into the water dish than Eco earth
 

Tom

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Raised water dishes often result in upside down tortoises. Just a cautionary note. I prefer them flush with the substrate too. For one her age/size you can omit the water bowl and soak every day or every other. This is what I do with Daisy, my three year old sulcata now. Just another option.
 

CtTortoiseMom

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I use coco coir substrate. I do have large rocks around my large Terra cotta soaking/drinking. The dish is level with the substrate. I guess the good news is that she likes to go in it. I think the cleaning it out and putting fresh water in it throughout the day is just something I have to get used to. Thanks for your feedback. Sorry about whining.
 

Torty Mom

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Your not whining, we feel your pain!! I have to clean my water dish alot because my hatchlings are on coconut coir and they walk thru it all day long. So far no poopies in the water, just lots of coir.
 

terryo

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I either put moss or flat slate all around the dish. It really makes a difference, but I still clean the dish every night.
 
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