I have a couple of questions that I need to ask

1) How does everyone keep the temperature warm when they give their torts a bath. I have experimented with different containers but the water still goes cold after about 5 mins. The only way I have found to do it is to ferry warm water to and from the sink and scoop cold water out and reply with warm. Surely there must be and easier way?

2) Are my tortoises too young to tell if they are boys or girls. they are between 1 and 2 years old, horsefield torts and at the moment they have very short tails, only just poking out from under their shell when they walk.

3) What is the leg movements they do all about? When my two are resting, they keep moving their legs and arms in towards their shells every so often.

4) I know that the white stuff in their wee is a by product but is it best fo them to have no white stuff, slightly cloudy wee or wee with toothpaste stuff in? What is the best wee to hope strive for.

Okay, thats it for the questions

hi there

1. just keep topping up the water

2. yes a bit young to tell, most look like females until 2-3 yrs old

3. leg movements is just breathing

4. white wee stuff is called urates, completely fine if it's like toothpaste

hope this helps

Hi

You could put the bath under the basking light, my two prefer to have a bath under their light.

Rachel.

Mine too Rachel:-)

now that's good thinking

sue xx

Hi

I would be aware of the electric water factor
Jane

daisy has a bath in the sink, i usually leave the warm tap on as a trickle she seems to prefer the water with a gentle splash rather than still. also she cant climb out. i watch her all the time and you can tell when she had enough coz she scratches at the side. just an idea

Thanks everyone for your replies. I did think about putting the light over them whilst they bath but with a 6 year old in the house as well I had images of electrocuted torts. Will continue to experiment with baths. Might try tin foil on the outside and pre heating the bath. The things we do for love.

Thanks everyone for your replies. I did think about putting the light over them whilst they bath but with a 6 year old in the house as well I had images of electrocuted torts. Will continue to experiment with baths. Might try tin foil on the outside and pre heating the bath. The things we do for love.

Hi Minniechops..
Was thinking this morning why my 2's baths don't go cold quickly and mine are in them for about 20 mins and yours does? I use baths that have high side to them, I don't fill them up high, but maybe the sides keep the water warm. I know the water used to go cold quickly when I put Keya in a little tray. Just a thought, as you may already have baths like my present ones, but it could be worth a try.
Good luck anyway
Jane

Hi -- and these aren't stupid questions at all! They are good questions that lots of people have (and besides, we always say that there are no silly questions when it comes to keeping tortoises).
1. Keeping bath water warm. I bathe my tort in an old washing up bowl and I have a desk lamp sitting next to it with the light focusing down on one corner of the bowl. The heat from the light keeps the water warmer for longer, but you obviously have to be careful whenever you have electricity near water.
2. Sexing young horsfields. Yours are far too young to sex, and most horsfields look like girls for the first few years. It's not until they are about four or five inches long that you will begin to see if they are male or not.
3. The leg movements. Tortoises don't have diaphragms like we do to help us breathe. So they physically pump the air in an out of their lungs using their muscles, and that is why you see those movements of the head and legs.
4. The urates (white stuff in wee). You want to aim for the urates to be as watery as possible (like egg whites). The thicker the urates get the less hydrated the tortoise is. So toothpaste is OK, but not as good as really watery urates, and if they are sandy or gritty then it means the tortoise is de-hydrated.

Hope that answers some of your questions, and do ask more if you have them!

Nina

LOL -- I've just realised that I never scrolled down the page and only saw your question at the top, but not the replies. Your questions have been well answered by everyone else, so sorry for repeating what others have already said!

Nina

I thought I'd better show you my basking light as I'd hate anyone of you to think my torts were in any danger of electrocution.

Rachel.

 aww nice set up, always looking for new ideas to improve mine :)