A clean, shallow kitty litter pan or a large porcelain baking dish may be ideal for this purpose. Whatever you choose to use as a tub, only use it for bathing the tortoise. Once it’s used to bathe the tortoise, it’s no longer suitable for food preparation or other such purposes.
The water must never be allowed to go cold, as the tortoise depends on heat from the environment to function. It’s best to scoop out the water periodically and add in more warm water. Do not leave your tortoise unattended in the water. A tortoise can easily become overturned and drown, even in a small amount of water.
Be sure to give special attention to the spaces between the scutes (plate-like sections of the shell) and the underside of the carapace (upper shell), especially around the limbs, tail, and head. Dirt tends to build up in these areas. Gently scrub the plastron (lower shell) as well as the upper shell.
Look for red spots or cracks around the tortoise’s beak and mouth. These may be signs of stomatitis or mouth rot. Examine the shell for cracks, discolorations, or lesions. Check the skin and scales for wounds or blisters. Check the folds in the tortoise’s skin around the head and limbs for mites, which will look like small red or black dots. These can be gently brushed off with your soft-bristle brush and rinsed away with water.
Make sure the tortoise is thoroughly dry, to prevent potential issues with shell rot caused by excessive humidity. Dispose of any paper towels immediately in a closed garbage container in order to prevent the spread of disease or parasites.
