The question that worries many owners of land turtles is not even how to organize a watering place for their wards, but whether they need water for drinking in principle.
To drink or not to drink?
There are several points of view on this score, but there is no universal answer - each case should be considered separately. In nature, Central Asian turtles live in conditions of lack of moisture and, as a rule, rarely have the opportunity to drink enough. Therefore, nature has provided a mechanism for obtaining the necessary liquid from food. By eating succulent plants, turtles make up for the lack of water and can feel absolutely wonderful for a long time without drinking.
There are, however, situations where turtles need extra moisture. Dehydrated reptiles do drink water, and they do it very willingly. If you give your pet dry food or the juicy components in her diet are not very numerous, you should take care of additional liquid. The dry ingredients of the feed mixture can be pre-soaked, and lettuce leaves, vegetable or fruit slices can be sprinkled with water just before serving to the turtle.
Refreshing bath
Regular water treatments are an important addition to the succulent food for land turtles. By moisturizing their skin, turtles have an additional opportunity to nourish delicate areas of the body with moisture and replenish its supply. In addition, while swimming, turtles collect a small amount of water into the cloaca, from where it is also absorbed into the blood.
If your terrarium is not equipped with a pool or pond in which the turtle can, if desired, plunge, once every 1-2 weeks it should definitely take a bath. If reptiles are kept in a covered aviary or on a loggia in the summer, swimming should be organized depending on the air temperature. In hot weather, when the thermometer rises above 28 ° C, turtles should be bathed once a week. If the summer is not very dry and hot, it is enough to limit yourself to two baths a month.
Arrange a drinker
If you doubt whether your pet is getting enough moisture and want to have access to drinking water all the time, you can equip her terrarium with a special drinker. It can also be an ordinary water reservoir - reptiles love to sometimes dive into them and reflect on their turtle life. Make sure that the water in the drinker is clean and fresh. If the turtle wants to get drunk, it will always have such an opportunity. However, be prepared for the fact that the first and main goal of your pet will not be a watering hole, but a desire to overturn a new object in your environment as soon as possible.
