Bathing and washing turtles

Bathing is considered necessary for all turtles to stimulate the intestines and clean the turtle from dirt and stuck food. The frequency of bathing depends on the turtle’s age and how dehydrated it is. Turtles up to 3 years old should be bathed daily or every other day (if there is a bathing suit), as well as dehydrated turtles that have lived for a long time in the wrong conditions. Older and healthy turtles need to be bathed 1-2 times a week. If there is a large swimming bath in the terrarium, in which the adult turtle fits completely – and the turtle actively uses it, you can not bathe the turtle on purpose.

Bathe turtles in warm water deep enough to prevent the turtle from drowning. After bathing, the turtle must be wiped dry and placed back in the terrarium. Aquatic turtles are not bathed, but only washed occasionally if they need to be washed off the dirt. When washing the turtle, you can only use soap, which should not get into the eyes, mouth and nose of the turtle.

Bathing tortoises

To bathe a turtle, it must be put in a basin or other container with warm water at 30–35 ° C from the tap (if water is poured without a thermometer, then it should feel barely warm, 36–37 ° C is warm for us, and the turtle is already hot). You can use not just water, but an aqueous infusion of chamomile. Its benefits have not been proven, but according to some reports, it softens the skin of turtles. You can use boiled or filtered water to get rid of water hardness. In no case do not put turtles in a bathroom or sink under running water, or even in a sink with a constant stream of water from a tap – there are not isolated cases when hot or cold water was suddenly turned off in the house, the animal received serious injuries, including internal organs!

The water level should be no more than 2/3 of the height of the lying turtle. If there are several turtles, then the water level is measured by the smallest of them. The turtle should be able to calmly stretch its head to breathe while standing on the bottom of the basin.

Land tortoises have the ability to defecate in water, so don’t be surprised if the water is very dirty after 15-20 minutes. The turtle is kept in a basin of water for about half an hour, then taken out, wiped with a clean terry or soft paper towel. After bathing, you should never take the turtle out into a draft or outside, only into a warm terrarium.

When bathing, the turtle can drink the water in which it is located, usually it looks like the turtle lowers its head into the water and makes swallowing movements with its throat. However, with frequent regular bathing, this usually does not happen.

White matter comes out of the tortoise. What’s this?

Look so urine salts, which can be seen when bathing or in a terrarium. Normally, salts should be liquid. If the salts are hard, then the turtle lacks moisture. Put a swimsuit in the terrarium and make sure a wet corner, bathe 2-3 times a week until the salts return to normal. If the salt does not come out at all when bathing, then this is a reason to contact the veterinarian.

Something dark came out of the turtle’s tail. What’s this?

If it looks like this:

Then your turtle is a male and this is her penis. If he normally retracts back into the tail on his own, then everything is in order. If he does not clean himself, hangs out and is injured by the turtle itself, then this is already a disease, and you need to contact the veterinarian.

Is it possible to brew chamomile and bathe a turtle in it?

Can. They say that it softens the skin, but does not have any special healing properties, i.e. will not cure pneumonia.

Washing tortoises

Usually, a land tortoise is bathed without the use of any chemicals (shampoo, soap, gels, etc.), but if you need to wash off severe pollution, as an exception, you can use hypoallergenic baby soap no more than 1 time per week. The temperature of the water for washing the turtle should be approximately 30-35 ° C (if the water is poured without a thermometer, then it should feel barely warm, 36-37 is warm for us, and the turtle is already hot). If the animal is very dirty, it can be gently wiped with a sponge moistened with water or soaped with baby hypoallergenic soap. At the same time, water and soap should not get into the eyes, nose and mouth of the turtle. Healthy turtles monitor their appearance: after eating, they clean off the remnants of food from the muzzle with their front paw. But it happens that plant tissue sticks and dries in these places. Therefore, while washing with your finger, you should gently wipe the sides of your mouth. If the animal is not yet tame and hides its head, you can tickle the turtle a little in the tail area. Then, perhaps, the turtle will pull it out, and at this time it can wash its mouth. After washing, the turtle should be wiped dry with a terry or paper towel and returned to its terrarium.