Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Is it possible to overdo soaking? I've been soaking my baby Hermann's every day, just because he seems to enjoy it and it does get things moving along, if you catch my drift. Is there any harm in daily soaking into adulthood?
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Sohni
Northern California

0.1 Baja de L.A. Rosy Boa
0.1 Okeetee Corn Snake
1.1 Rubber Boas
1.0 Leopard Gecko
0.0.1 Hermann's Tortoise
plus my kids' herps:
0.0.1 California King Snake
1.0 Mexican Rosy Boa
0.1 Leopard Gecko

I don't think daily soakings would do any harm. There are those that believe this is not the case but I recommend giving these animals, in general, as much opportunity to hydrate as possible.
Ed

I soak my Redfoots and yellowfoot every other day and give them each a pan that they can crawl out of if they really don't want to soak. Some days they stay in their tubs, drink heartily, soak for a while, defecate and jump out. Other days they want nothing to do with it and just high tail it out within in seconds. They drink readily and constantly from their water bowls as well so I they seem to kind of regulate themselves as long as I provide them with their soaking pans.

In my opinion, you can overdo soaking. Tortoises are designed to use every last drop of water they take in. I believe that giving them too much water can throw their systems out of whack. In the wild, they would not encounter water every day, and may go months without drinking.

I have too many tortoises to soak them all individually. Since they are all outdoors, I just run the hose on the ground and let them drink from the natural puddles that form. Sometimes I put the sprinkler on to simulate rainfall. I do this maybe once or twice a month, and that is plenty.

I was talking about arid tortoises when I said you shouldn't soak them too much. Tropicals like redfoots need more water.

Hey- I soak all five of my tortoises every day. This includes Redfoots, a Cherryhead, and Indian Stars. I don't see how it can do any harm. When they're not thirsty, they don't drink. Why take the chance of dehydrating them when it only takes five- ten minutes out of your day to put your tortoise in a dish of warm water? You never know what could be going on with their systems. From my observation, if you keep them hydrated they seem to eat better. Instead of picking out the "junk" food, they go more for the fiberous "healthy" foods.

Good luck,
Brooks

I agree that tortoises should be kept hydrated, I just disagree with the idea that you need to soak them every day to do it. They get most of what they need from their diet. Why force them to "hydrate" when they may not even want to? Like I said, I just run the hose in the yard and let them make the choice. I am always amazed at how rarely they drink. I have 7 Russians that I have had for about 3 years. You may not believe this, but I have NEVER seen any of them drink in that 3 years. Not once. If I try to soak them, they freak out and try to get out of the dish as fast as they can. Different tortoises have different hydration requirements. Why treat them all the same?

Nobody is saying that you have to soak your animals daily. I think the point is that hydration is important and that you really can't go overboard. Now, if you keep your tortoise in an aquatic environment... you've gone overboard. I guess that is an exception.
Ed