Hi,
I have a Horsfield about a year old and I’ve had it about a month, it doesn’t go in its water bowl unless I put him in it......any tips on how to get it to drink more and how many times I should encourage the drinking to happen, I’ve been reading the forums and can see his urates are dry, I’m doing it daily at the moment so that he takes some water on.
Any help
Re: Any help
Hi Beell,
Welcome to the forum and congratulations on getting your tortoise - and Horsfields are a great species, with lots of personality.
Many tortoises don't drink from their water bowl (I have one that drinks regularly and one that has never drunk for her bowl), and if his urates are dry then it means he is dehydrated. The problem with the water bowl is that he can easily walk out of it without taking a drink. What most of us do, whether they drink from the bowl or not, is to soak our tortoises several times a week (and for a one-year old it should probably be every day) in warm water (the temperature you would bathe a baby in), that comes just up to where his top shell meets his bottom shell -- or his chin. You should do it in a container that he dan't see out of, like an old washing up bowl, and leave him in there for 15 - 20 minutes (you might have to take some water out and top it up with more warm water if it starts to cool down too much). There is some evidence that tortoises can take up some water through their cloaca when bathed this way, and after he gets used to these baths he will probably drink readily as well.
The other thing you can do is to wet the leaves/flowers, etc. that you are feeding him, so that when he eats his food he is getting a bit of water that way. Wetting the leaves also helps the calcium supplement you are giving to stick to the leaves and not get wasted.
If you want to send us a photo of your set-up, we can perhaps suggest little tweaks so that he doesn't get too hot and dehydrate. What temperature are you getting directly under his heat lamp (measured at the height of his shell), and also at the coold end of his enclosure?
You probably have one already, but if you don't then I'm happy to send you a link to a good care sheet for Horsfields -- just let me know.
Nina
Welcome to the forum and congratulations on getting your tortoise - and Horsfields are a great species, with lots of personality.
Many tortoises don't drink from their water bowl (I have one that drinks regularly and one that has never drunk for her bowl), and if his urates are dry then it means he is dehydrated. The problem with the water bowl is that he can easily walk out of it without taking a drink. What most of us do, whether they drink from the bowl or not, is to soak our tortoises several times a week (and for a one-year old it should probably be every day) in warm water (the temperature you would bathe a baby in), that comes just up to where his top shell meets his bottom shell -- or his chin. You should do it in a container that he dan't see out of, like an old washing up bowl, and leave him in there for 15 - 20 minutes (you might have to take some water out and top it up with more warm water if it starts to cool down too much). There is some evidence that tortoises can take up some water through their cloaca when bathed this way, and after he gets used to these baths he will probably drink readily as well.
The other thing you can do is to wet the leaves/flowers, etc. that you are feeding him, so that when he eats his food he is getting a bit of water that way. Wetting the leaves also helps the calcium supplement you are giving to stick to the leaves and not get wasted.
If you want to send us a photo of your set-up, we can perhaps suggest little tweaks so that he doesn't get too hot and dehydrate. What temperature are you getting directly under his heat lamp (measured at the height of his shell), and also at the coold end of his enclosure?
You probably have one already, but if you don't then I'm happy to send you a link to a good care sheet for Horsfields -- just let me know.
Nina
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