I think my tort is trying to kill me....

Morlas Mama

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Found baby Morla on her back this morning. Talk about giving someone a heart attack! I could not have been more freaked if I had walked around the corner to find a kid trying to put a fork in a light socket. At most she had been there for two hours and worst still, she was exposed under the 105° basking light that whole time. I feel HORRIBLE!

She has figured out if she burrows around enough in the moss, it piles nicely against the humid hides. She then MacGyver's her way up the moss and topples over. I actually called off work half of the day just so I could observe how she did it. I couldn't bare the thought of something happening to her while I was at work.

So, what do I do? I moved the moss to the other end away from the hides but she's become Evil Knievel overnight! She is climbing EVERYTHING! Please tell me this is some sort of toddler phase they eventually outgrow? My heart can't take it! What should I do? The moss is amazing for the humidity any replacement ideas? Should I remove the humid hides too? Install tortoise spy cams hooked into a phone app to watch her at work? She absolutely will not stop climbing!
 

leigti

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Give us a picture of your enclosure, that will help us give suggestions. Maybe build little ramps of substrate up the sides of the hives so that she can just climb up and down rather than falling off. maybe also push the hides down farther into the substrate. Again a picture would help a lot.
 

Morlas Mama

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The first pic is where I have moved the moss from the corner next to the hide to in front of the water/food dishes. The second pic is the hide she flipped on. I had moss draped over the whole thing and she climbed it like ropes. I removed all the draping and left the rest bunched on top. She can't reach it....for now. I've been hawk eyeing her all day and she tried, but she can't. She still tried to climb the rock hide but it's too slick and she gives up quickly when she can't get anywhere.

Is there anything I can do to keep the humidity without the moss? I stay steady at 89-99% on humidity with out even trying with it in there, but I'll replace it if it keeps her safer.
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Levi the Leopard

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I liked the babies to be able to walk up and over hides. I would mound the substrate up and over the hides so she doesn't need to climb and fall, rather she can walk up and down.
Also, I liked to have a lot of plants. Real or fake, doesn't matter. They provide good footing for a flipped baby to right themselves. I don't have pics to post right now but if you search through my threads you'll find examples...or I can post some here next time I'm at my computer.
 

Morlas Mama

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Perfect! So I'll add ALOT more substrate to the tank then to create more hills and a ramp over the hide. Plants make me nervous. She thinks she Tarzan lol. But, I will put a few plants on my shopping list for her. Thank you for the tips! I'll try these and see how she does.

Thursday I'll post pics and would love some feedback if it's better or needs a fixin' :D
 

leigti

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Flipping over on their back is not the worst thing in the world if they have uneven ground and lots of different footholds so they can flip them sells back over. It's dangerous if they are on their back too long, land in the water bowl, or get stuck under the heat lamp. Otherwise it's natural tortoise activity. it's a skill that you need, hopefully not too often though.
 

Levi the Leopard

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If plants make you nervous, you don't HAVE to have them. Plenty of people here don't use them and even don't recommend them. There are people on both sides of the coin..

I'm on the side that likes pants, prefers plants and sees benefit in plants.

If a tort is flipping without the plants, adding them might do good. If a tort is flipping on plants, taking them out might do good..
In your case, I suggest you try it but since you express being nervous...I just wanted to elaborate for you, so you can be confident in your decision.
 

Morlas Mama

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If plants make you nervous, you don't HAVE to have them. Plenty of people here don't use them and even don't recommend them. There are people on both sides of the coin..

I'm on the side that likes pants, prefers plants and sees benefit in plants.

If a tort is flipping without the plants, adding them might do good. If a tort is flipping on plants, taking them out might do good..
In your case, I suggest you try it but since you express being nervous...I just wanted to elaborate for you, so you can be confident in your decision.

Thank you for clarifying. It's not that the plants really make me nervous, it that I have some funny visual of her swinging like Tarzan from them lol. I think the plants are a good idea. I have a small greenhouse inside my house all winter and could easily transplant a few things. I think for now, I'll buy a few fake on Thursday and she how she does. This way I don't ruin a few live plants if it doesn't work out and I have to remove them. I imagine this is an ongoing thing? Always updating and adjusting their habitats? Not that I mind. I'm finding it rather fun.
 

Morlas Mama

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Flipping over on their back is not the worst thing in the world if they have uneven ground and lots of different footholds so they can flip them sells back over. It's dangerous if they are on their back too long, land in the water bowl, or get stuck under the heat lamp. Otherwise it's natural tortoise activity. it's a skill that you need, hopefully not too often though.

She was under the heating light. She had pooped (excuse the nastiness) all over herself and was VERY lethargic. I rushed her into a look warm bath to bring her body temp back down and she perked right up. I keep the water bowl away from everything and very shallow. I hope that continues to be the best route.
 

leigti

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I really like plants also. They don't have to be tall plants they could be low to the ground ones that he can hide under. you can plant them directly into the substrate are in the little pots of some sort.
 

Morlas Mama

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I will look through the forums for acceptable plants. I don't want to inadvertently put something dangerous I'm there if she decides to take a bite.
 

AnnV

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My redfoots are nearly 4 years old. Of the 2, one has flipped herself at least 1/2 dozen times. She is always lyng there like she's dead. I have never called off work, but I get quite alarmed each time. She has always survived just fine. Idk why she does when her sister never has flipped, to my knowledge.
 

wellington

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I'm on the other side of the flipping coin. I do not want mine to flip, ever. It's dangerous and they can do damage even if not flipped under a hot light or in the water. There are a lot of tortoises that cannot right themselves and this is how they die, a so cruel death. So, I would make everything as suggested so if he were to flip, he has a good chance of righting itself, but, then do everything possible so there is nothing to make him flip.
 

Morlas Mama

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All very good things to know. I called off just for the morning hours cause I have flexibility in my office schedule like that and it seemed worth it to me to figure out how she did it. To my knowledge, she's only a few months old. My background is medicine, so it's hard to not let that mindset sink into everything I do....including Morla's care. I assume being on her back would increase thoracic and intercranial pressure. Flipping under the light just compounded the situation. Now that I know how she's did it, I'm making the necessary adjustments. Whether it's natural or unnatural to flip and have the skills to turn upright again, raising them in captivity has to assume more responsibility on us to make their habitat safe. I feel mine is not at this point, so that's where I'll start :D

@AnnV is it possible one of your redfoots is flipping the other in a little battle for dominance? Or maybe one is trying to mount the other and topples over? I don't know a thing except what I've read, so I'm just wondering if that might be what's happening.
 

Moozillion

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A great website for tortoise-safe plants is The Tortoise Table. They even include photos to help with identification and make safety recommendations.

And it seems almost ANY plant that gets transplanted into my tort's enclosure gets destroyed: eaten or (more often) trampled to death! :p
 

Morlas Mama

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One question though...I make all my own compost and use a 50/50 of compost/soil for all my plants. I'm assuming all natural compost would not interfere like store bought fertilizers, but does anyone know for certain?
 

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