washing a tortoise

[vikiilou89]

sounds ridiculous i know, but ive been advised to give george a good old scrub down with a tooth brush, obviously i will be gentle but does any one have any tips on doing this? is it just warm water, and what about legs and face? any help greatly appreciated, thanks x

[longbowassassin]

instruction video here,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWZRGZInJkw

[iona_tortoise]

that video is hillarious and very addictive

[Coolsox]

Originally Posted by vikiilou89

sounds ridiculous i know, but ive been advised to give george a good old scrub down with a tooth brush, obviously i will be gentle but does any one have any tips on doing this? is it just warm water, and what about legs and face? any help greatly appreciated, thanks x

I use a soft shaving brush and gently move it in a circular motion around the scutes and again on the plastron.

The book 'Naturalistic keeping and breeding of Hermann's Tortoises' by Wolfgang Wegehaupt, advises that the shell is actually quite sensitive and should be washed very gently, comparing the pain threshold to that of our shins.

[burnt toast]

I do mine occasionally I have a very soft baby hairbrush & use a spot of babybath, which im careful not to get near their heads & rinse thoroughly. Mine get very dusty off the topsoil especially the little ones who tend to dig more, you'd be amazed at the colour of the water.

[not-short-of-a-tort]

that video is CRACKING!!! love it

[shellonia]

I also use a baby toothbrush and spray VERY diluted F10 on it once a week.The other days they just have 15mins soak which gets most of the dust off.It doesn't harm them to gently pour water over their heads from the back but they mostly dunk their own heads under and wash their eyes with front legs.You can wipe their eyes with a damp tissue but never put the brush near their face.They come to enjoy it as long as you keep topping up with warm.

[anna m]

That video is amazing

[**Carol**]

Love the video - my tortoise Reggie does that!!! I first noticed only a couple of weeks ago when I was stroking the back of his shell and he started rubbing against me just like that! I didn't know if he was itching against me or if it just feels good? Does anyone know why they do it? it is extremely cute though, I shall have to try and get a video!