Leopard Tortoise "Head Stuck" Issues

[RhodaE]

We had an incident the other day so I was just on here looking to see if others have experienced the same thing. Our leopard tortoise is about 35 years old. The first time this happened, we were carrying him at a slight angle and when we set him down, his head was stuck outside his shell in a strange position with his mouth open and gasping. This was many years ago...we kind of panicked and took him to the vet and they ultimately gave him a relax shot and used jelly to move his head back in. Fast forward to the other day, he was out marching around the yard as usual and when my husband stepped out to check on him as we do often, he was upside down after apparently tumbling off a row of bricks around a rosebush. We've went to great lengths to make our yard tortoise friendly but he still manages to do crazy things like climb over decorative rocks etc. Anyway he was on his back, neck outstretched and sideways, jaws agape, gasping. He was carried inside, and we started running water for a hot soak and gathering up the vaseline but in the meantime I simply set him on a rug in a quiet room, and he settled down and before the bath was full he was fine. So I was on the forum just now looking for similar stories but instead found stories of leopard tortoises getting their heads stuck while INSIDE of their shells. So I guess this is another thing to worry about! If anyone has any tips please let me know. I always tell our petsitter not to tip him sideways. But the "stuck inside" issue I hope never happens!

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

Great anecdote, thanks for sharing. The "if a tortoise can do something silly to harm itself, it will" is alive in your leopard.

Philosophical: I wonder if this is a 'selection event' in terms of evolution. I did see plenty of cleaned out shells of long dead leopard tortoises in the wild. One in a gully wedged tight between rocks, two giant males in another wash at the bottom of a steep hill. Plenty of way the shells could have ended up there, but maybe they just did something silly.

The situation described as stuck in, I've seen in Testudo tortoises, all had thick marginals and gulars. it was progressive and with out intervention they would have died. Vets removed shell.

 

[RhodaE]

Great anecdote, thanks for sharing. The "if a tortoise can do something silly to harm itself, it will" is alive in your leopard.

Philosophical: I wonder if this is a 'selection event' in terms of evolution. I did see plenty of cleaned out shells of long dead leopard tortoises in the wild. One in a gully wedged tight between rocks, two giant males in another wash at the bottom of a steep hill. Plenty of way the shells could have ended up there, but maybe they just did something silly.

The situation described as stuck in, I've seen in Testudo tortoises, all had thick marginals and gulars. it was progressive and with out intervention they would have died. Vets removed shell.

Interesting. You know, one funny thing my tortoise has done more than once. I'll be digging a hole to plant a small shrub or larger flower plant, and I'll have a hole maybe a foot or more deep I'm preparing...and of course he has to come over and watch the whole thing and he'll go right to the edge, and stretches his neck all the way down into it for a good look and then he'll wave one front leg into it back and forth, like a little kid might. He's very curious about everything. At least he hasn't dived into a hole. He does a lot of other crazy things but not that ha.

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

Interesting. You know, one funny thing my tortoise has done more than once. I'll be digging a hole to plant a small shrub or larger flower plant, and I'll have a hole maybe a foot or more deep I'm preparing...and of course he has to come over and watch the whole thing and he'll go right to the edge, and stretches his neck all the way down into it for a good look and then he'll wave one front leg into it back and forth, like a little kid might. He's very curious about everything. At least he hasn't dived into a hole. He does a lot of other crazy things but not that ha.

Yeah/Yes/affirmative Ive noticed this, less the arm waving. Whenever I've done dirt work in an enclosure, indoor or outdoors - tortoises or box turtles, they observe and investigate. If I make a 'hill' they climb it right away. If I dig a hole they have to get right to the edge, box turtle 'sliding' in. Even just turning the substrate over they get involved. They are fascinated by dirt work.

 

[Yvonne G]

The arm waving thing meant he thought the hole was a puddle and he wanted to toss the water over his back.

 

[RhodaE]

The arm waving thing meant he thought the hole was a puddle and he wanted to toss the water over his back.

Ha. Our guy is so crazy nothing would surprise me. I was just outside eating lunch and watering plants, and he followed me around of course, shoving the table up like an earthquake jolt, pushing pots, walking on top of the hose handle and setting it off crazily, and then pushing his car tire toy around...all in a matter of minutes. Warm day today, his batteries well charged ha.