Tortoise fell out of enclosure..

[kirbytherussian]

My Russian tortoise climbed out of his enclosure, fell about 2 feet and couple inches, then proceeded to ponder about the upstairs until I noticed his absence and freaked out until I found him a room over.

He's back in his enclosure now, and the blocks of wood that were blocking his only escape route have been put back into place, regardless of them blocking out his artificial sunshine, which was the reason I took them down in the first place (I've fixed the problem now)

Anyway, he seems to be doing fine, no noticeable injuries. Though he does seem a bit out of if, as he immediately found a secure place and is sleeping now. My only concern is that he could of hurt something on the inside, or maybe gotten a mild concussion, if tortoises even get concussions? I picked him up to double check on him and placed him in the middle of his 3 foot 3 enclosure. He just looked around, moved a couple inches, then after a little while fell back asleep. Is that normal after a fall like that? He has a vet appt. scheduled next Tuesday, should I mention it to the vet? As you've probably guessed, I'm a bit concerned about my baby, as I don't want to loose yet another beloved tortoise of mine. He's normally very active, and explorative, which is why he decided to see if he could see what was on the other side of his enclosure walls. All he's doing is sleeping now, and was just wondering if any if you had any advice on what to do and how to take care of him until his vet appt.



Thanks so much,
-m

 

[phebe121]

Sorry to hear he fell i knkw there alot like babys to us lol i would watch him maybe he got hurt in his tumble maybe they can bruise on the inside idk maybe just relaxing after that if your really worried and hes not acting like he sould id take him to the ver good luck and hope hes ok

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi "M", and Welcome to the Forum!!

Tortoises fall all the time. It usually doesn't amount to anything. You may just be reading into his actions something that isn't there. If it were me, I wouldn't go to the vet for this. There's nothing a vet can do with no visible injuries, etc. Just go over your husbandry and make sure everything is as it should be, then give him a day or two to settle down. He is, after all, a captive again. And he thought he was FREE!!!

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

My russian has fallen down a stair length before (not the whole set, just one stair) which, you know, is pretty high to a tort! He was fine, and had no injury or strange behavior. How high are his walls?
Man, FREEEEEEEEEEEE! What a break, he was probably thrilled

 

[wellington]

If he is not a hatchling, a bigger enclosure is very much needed. Like Yvonne said, they can fall in the wild too, but I would just keep a closer eye on him but sure he will be fine.

 

[pepsiandjac]

1 of my Greek tortoises climbed out of his enclosure once and fell about 5 feet,he was only 6 months at the time,I rushed him to the vets but he was fine and wondering what all the fuss was about

 

[johnsonnboswell]

I dont think the vet is going to be able to do anything in this case. He's probably fine.

 

[smarch]

I watch my Russian climb his long and literally fanceplant off the top repeatedly... he's weird! But Franklin's had a fall similar, I was walking him back into the house after a day outside and someone left a door that shouldn't be open open and I walked straight into it and he landed on my feet, he was rather appalled (and I yelled about the darn door being open!) but he was fine. Your guy's probably hiding because he's either shaken up from the fall or grumpy he was free and now is back to where he started. Once franklin flipped in his water dish when it was still a slightly deeper than terra-cotta saucer tapperware and I grabbed him and he was fine but then went and hid in his hide the rest of the day all shaken up... that water dish lest quickly after that!
Its good you've reseured the area, i'm sure he'll be fine

 

[leigti]

I watch my Russian climb his long and literally fanceplant off the top repeatedly... he's weird! But Franklin's had a fall similar, I was walking him back into the house after a day outside and someone left a door that shouldn't be open open and I walked straight into it and he landed on my feet, he was rather appalled (and I yelled about the darn door being open!) but he was fine. Your guy's probably hiding because he's either shaken up from the fall or grumpy he was free and now is back to where he started. Once franklin flipped in his water dish when it was still a slightly deeper than terra-cotta saucer tapperware and I grabbed him and he was fine but then went and hid in his hide the rest of the day all shaken up... that water dish lest quickly after that!
Its good you've reseured the area, i'm sure he'll be fine

My Russian tortoise jumps off his log also. Looks both ways up-and-down and then face plants right into the dirt and then does it again. Maybe it's a Russian thing? I dropped my box turtle once she landed in in the dirt but did bounce a couple times. I was mortified, I thought I had killed her. I picked her up but of course she was all shut up in her shell and would not come out. She didn't come out of the shell for half an hour no matter how much I apologized. She looked a little miffed but everything is fine now. Thank God they are tough little bugger's.