Help! Tortoise climbing out

[rachel.mather94]

Hi everyone!
I'm hoping that some of you have reckless tortoises like mine!
As soon as we got him he started to climb, so straight away we bought some wooden fencing/edging kind of stuff and attached this to his table, this added about 4 inches to the height of the sides, but he is still managing to get out!
He flips on his back sometimes and we have even found him on the floor when we got home once before aswell, which worries me alot!
He has nothing near to the edges to uses as a step up but somehow he just scales the walls.
So if anyone has had this problem and has solved it i would love to know how!

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome Put a ledge over the top. Like a lip that sticks out into the enclosure.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

I have a 4inch lip around the entire perimeter of my Russian pen. Impossible to climb out

 

[LolaMyLove]

They are great little climbers. I put a 3" lip around my enclosure and he doesn't even try anymore.

 

[rachel.mather94]

Ooh never thought about a lip,
We have been putting a piece of wood over the corners he climbs the most, and he continues to climb but instead flips on his back?

 

[rachel.mather94]

And do you any of you guys happen to a picture of your enclosures, so I can see what you mean?

 

[Tom]

What species? What size? And how tall are the walls?

 

[Levi the Leopard]

And do you any of you guys happen to a picture of your enclosures, so I can see what you mean?

My walls are 12" tall with a 4" lip. This works for my Russian's and my leopard. Although, my leopard has never tried to climb anything.

This set up can work for most species and sizes. Obviously big tank sullies are not part of the "most" in that statement

A picture to give you the idea.

Keep in mind there is more to the "escape" problem than access out. My pens are large and heavily planted. They also have a lot of different things for sight barriers. I have trees/stumps, rocks, logs, hides, etc. and all of this makes for an interesting environment. In the outdoor Russian pen (20x6') I have no issues with any of them trying to climb out. I spend a lot of time watching them and they are happy to cruise around without attempting escape.

My Leopard comes in at night and even his indoor enclosure has rocks, plants and obstacles.

In addition to making a lip, make the enclosure as awesome/natural as you can! You'll like the look of it better and he will like his home more

 

[rachel.mather94]

What species? What size? And how tall are the walls?

He is a hermanns tortoise, about 6/7 inches (approx) and the walles are about 8 inches not including the substrate

 

[JoesMum]

So the walls are shorter than the tort when he stretches out his legs... it's no wonder he escapes. Higher walls and capping are needed. Many torts love the challenge of a good climb.

 

[rachel.mather94]

He isn't taller than the walls with his legs stretched out, he scales the walls until hes out, like hangs on and climbs

 

[JoesMum]

If your tort has a shell length of 6 to 7 inches and the walls are 8 inches, it is not hard for him to stretch his legs fully and get a grip at the top of the wall. Higher walls and capping for your little mountaineer's enclosure

 

[rachel.mather94]

Thankyou to everyone that helped!
We have now decided to add a lip to our enclosure, now we need a plan of how to do that.
Here's a picture of his enclosure, and you can see what i mean by the fencing.