Anti-Flipping Idea

[Madzparrow]

Hey Folks!

I wanted to share this idea for people who are having a hard time getting hatchlings to stop flipping (like I was). I have a Russian Hatchling named Clyde. He is super curious and is constantly trying to climb out of his enclosure, he'll climb up along the wooden walls until he's on his back legs and then he'll flip backwards, I watched him do it three times in a day and and realized i needed a better solution to baby proof his enclosure. I went through the forum to see what other people have done but felt like a lot of the solutions I was seeing were "make sure he has a place to hide, reduce 90 degree angles, feed him a lot" . These helped reduce the frequency of him trying to climb his enclosure but it didn't really solve the issue of him climbing when he eventually got bored.

I realized while giving him a bath in a glazed ceramic bowl that his claws couldn't get a hold on such a smooth surface, I ran out to Home depot immediately and purchased some glazed subway tile. The tile I got is actually for edging, and has a fancy lip that comes out which makes a steep acute angle at the top of the tile (curving inwards), I laid these against the walls of his enclosure and against the corners to reduce 90 degree angles and so far this has worked miracles. He still tries to climb up but the tile is way too smooth for him to grab so he just slides back down to his feet. (getting him another hiding spot for the opposite side of his enclosure has also helped, he tries to climb the edges a lot less)

I was exttra precaucious with the way that the tile leans into the enclosure, but Honestly think this trick would work with any smooth tile (even completely flat), Now that I've gotten him to stop trying so hard to climb out, I've bought some stick on tile that mimics ceramic tiles in texture plan to redo the sides of his enclosure with that (Fairly confident this will still work).

This trick worked for me, helps me sleep at night! Hope it helps someone else too!

*Word of caution- make sure you lean the tile up agains the walls in a way where the tile won't just tip over onto your tort if he pushes against it, this is a big reason why I'm looking into getting some stick on tiles instead.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Hey Folks!

I wanted to share this idea for people who are having a hard time getting hatchlings to stop flipping (like I was). I have a Russian Hatchling named Clyde. He is super curious and is constantly trying to climb out of his enclosure, he'll climb up along the wooden walls until he's on his back legs and then he'll flip backwards, I watched him do it three times in a day and and realized i needed a better solution to baby proof his enclosure. I went through the forum to see what other people have done but felt like a lot of the solutions I was seeing were "make sure he has a place to hide, reduce 90 degree angles, feed him a lot" . These helped reduce the frequency of him trying to climb his enclosure but it didn't really solve the issue of him climbing when he eventually got bored.

I realized while giving him a bath in a glazed ceramic bowl that his claws couldn't get a hold on such a smooth surface, I ran out to Home depot immediately and purchased some glazed subway tile. The tile I got is actually for edging, and has a fancy lip that comes out which makes a steep acute angle at the top of the tile (curving inwards), I laid these against the walls of his enclosure and against the corners to reduce 90 degree angles and so far this has worked miracles. He still tries to climb up but the tile is way too smooth for him to grab so he just slides back down to his feet. (getting him another hiding spot for the opposite side of his enclosure has also helped, he tries to climb the edges a lot less)

I was exttra precaucious with the way that the tile leans into the enclosure, but Honestly think this trick would work with any smooth tile (even completely flat), Now that I've gotten him to stop trying so hard to climb out, I've bought some stick on tile that mimics ceramic tiles in texture plan to redo the sides of his enclosure with that (Fairly confident this will still work).

This trick worked for me, helps me sleep at night! Hope it helps someone else too!

*Word of caution- make sure you lean the tile up agains the walls in a way where the tile won't just tip over onto your tort if he pushes against it, this is a big reason why I'm looking into getting some stick on tiles instead.

Most tortoises flip over less and less as they age.
This sounds like a very good tip and I'm glad that it's worked for you.
Tipping can become a dangerous thing.
Never have a heat lamp in an area where your tort has a history of flipping over.
Flipping under a heat lamp can be deadly much faster.

 

[Madzparrow]

Yeah thats what had me worried, he kept flipping right on his basking plate so i set the tiles up primarily in that area and then whereever there were corners. Its worked really well!

 

[JoFisch]

Could you post a picture of what it looks like?

 

[Madzparrow]

No problem! Here's a picture of the tile I bought. They were just over a dollar a piece at home depot and I lean them up against the wall so that he won't tip them over. (He really likes trying to shove them aside but has only actually managed it once) I set it up with the fat end going upwards, he can't get any traction on the tile and if he manages to get over the first little hump he has a really hard time with the curve at the top. That stops him from getting all the way verticle and tipping over.

Set them up about a week ago and he's been trying less and less to climb them. I'm going to swap them out for a smooth stick on tile that will sit completely flat against the wall now that he's already discouraged from climbing. Hoping for the same results since I've found that the tile itself is too slick for him to climb up, but will keep these around in case it doesnt because they've been working super well.

(Note, you'll want a bigger tile if you have a bigger tortoise. Mine is a russian hatchling.)