I am not sure if I almost drowned my russian tortoise.?

Question

I wanted to soak my tortoise, so I had filled his tub half way with warm water, then I noticed when I had put him in he had just sunk to the bottom. I then saw little air bubbles come from his nose as well as a fart, so I got scared and I released some water. I left enough to cover the bottom of his shell, making sure that his head stayed above the water. Can he actually swim under water, or was I about to accidently drown him? Please advise?

Answer 1

It sounds like he almost drown. I found the following on a website.

"5) Can my tortoise swim?
[Terry Carman] No, tortoises generally can not swim. Tortoises are terrestrial, which means that they live on land. Unlike aquatic turtles, tortoises lack webbed feet. Should a tortoise by accident fall into a pond or swimming pool it could sink to the bottom like a rock and drown.

It is therefore very important when planing an enclosure for your tortoise that it has no access to large bodies of water other than a very shallow dish to drink from. The dish must be shallow enough that the tortoise can drink easily, without falling into the dish or flipping on its back trying to climb up to take a drink or out after taking one. Also when planing an outdoor enclosure you must make sure that you do not build it in an area of your yard which will flood during a heavy rainfall, (drowning the trapped tortoise). If you plan to hibernate your tortoise outdoors do not allow it to hibernate in an area which may flood. (Drowning the tortoise as it hibernates).

There are some species of tortoise that can swim and enjoy doing so but they are the exception rather than the rule. Always study the natural history of any animal you wish to care for to ascertain its particular needs. "

From the sound of it... with the bubbles and farting... he either CAN'T swim... or doesn't WANT to. LoL Either way, better safe than sorry. Keep your little guy away from the water. Good luck. :o)

Answer 2

They can drown during a soak, although they can usually handle open water in the wild OK.

When soaking a tortoise, please do not fill the water up to more than about 1/2 way up the shell. Besides- soaking the shell does not help it a lot! (If you are trying to CLEAN the shell by soaking it, just tip the tub so the tortoise's head is in the shallow area and the shell is in deeper water. You shuold not have to do this often.)




I know it is popular to say to soak tortoises weekly or so, but I am coming to doubt the wisdom of this idea.

I find that if you...
- give a tortoise free acess to water (big enoung dish to let the tortoise soak if desired and get in and out easily),
- maintain the humidity right (most tortoises need at least a hiding spot with high humidity, and forest species need close to 90% over-all), and
- offer the right diet with the right moisture levels, etc.
... then you don't seem to need to worry about soaking.

Look at it this way- if tortoises needed people to give them soaks, they would die in the wild, right? So, if we HAVE to give them soaks, we must be doing something wrong somewhere and somehow.

Most of our captive tortoises are dehydrated- sunken eyes, tears or tearstains around the eyes, dry flaky skin, a little lightweight. We cannot overcome 7 days of dehydration with a few minutes of soaking. We can get a short term result, but not a long-term fix to the problem.

"But" you say, "My tortoise defecates in its soak. Surely that is a good sign?!" Maybe. I suspect that part of the defecation during a soak is sheer stress, and part is finally getting enough hydration to pass the materials.

If your tortoise LIKES soaks- seems to enjoy the warm water, etc.- go for it. But if yours is like most and struggles to get out, maybe you will consider doing things a bit diffrently to minimize the need for soaks?

For a Russian, try offering a warm, humid hiding box- a simple plastic tub with a lid and a hole cut in a side for it to crawl in. Put a couple inches of well-wetted, almost dripping sphagnum moss or cypruss mulch or Bed-A-Beast in the tub.

Combine this with a water dish big and deep enough for it to get in and out of freely. Paint trays for mini-paint rollers are a nice size for medium-small tortoises.

Answer 3

Russians come from a very dry area, and aren't used to being in bodies of water, so they don't swim. Please be careful not to put him in with water deeper than the base of their necks - and yes, they can drown.

Just keep him warm (it you use a heat lamp, I'd leave it on as long as possible for tonight/tomorrow) and dry and watch to see he doesn't develop any respiratory problems. And use just a little water in the future!