My tortoise flipped over

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loyolaboy98

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My baby tortoise flipped over in his water bowl when i wasnt home!!! We left at 6:30 and came back at 8 and i found him flipped on his back!!! Idk how long he was like that because i could see he also ate a lot. the water wasnt very high because i know they can drown if the flip over. Have any bad things happened to him internaly??? When i flipped over he started walking around again. How can i make it safef for him and prevent this from happening again!?!?!?
 

Cowboy_Ken

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Sounds as if your water dish may have steepish sides? I would suggest changing it out for more of a saucer/dish type item to keep this from happening again. Keep your temps up and check on it regularly to insure no health changes go unnoticed.
 

BeeBee*BeeLeaves

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The terra cotta saucers for terra cotta pots work great and they come in many sizes so you can get bigger ones as your tortoise grows. Also good for putting food in. And I believe that the baked clay may help keep the beak trimmed. Like.
 

loyolaboy98

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Thanx for scaring me with that link!!! Luckily he was in better conditions. Even wellington said he is prob gonna b ok. Besides i already have a vet apointment set up tomorow for his first check up anyway they can double check.
 

wellington

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That is a scary thread. One everyone should consider when building enclosures. To try and make them as flip proof as possible, yet as close to their natural habitat as possible. I wish we new the amount of time a tortoise can be flipped with no danger to them. Sure thats not posible as all conditions would have to be considered and how well the tort acts afterwards. This one went on about its business eating and then off to bed at his normal time. He also was not in any high heat conditions, nor was he in too deep of water. When these things happen, it's always best to keep a close eye on them for a day or two for any abnormal activity. Yes, I do think this one will be fine.
 

JoesMum

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I agree on safety with regard to the water bowl, but I will always argue against flip-proof enclosures

It is important that a tort learns to right itself as young as possible, as it has to in the wild.

Give torts things to climb and make mistakes on. Make sure the terrain is not completely flat, use rocks pebbles and plants around the enclosure so that they have plenty of thing to use to lever themselves upright. Let them tip over when you're around to keep an eye on things and give them the opportunity to learn to flip back.

If you're going to be out for any length of time, you might want to remove some of the climbing obstacles most likely to cause capsize. Otherwise, let your tort be adventurous and learn,
 

KimC90

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I found my guy like this once. Scared me half to death, I was so glad he ended up head to the sky atleast. I got him a more shallow bowl and he hasnt had a problem since :)
 

jackrat

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I just righted an old male redfoot who was on his back in the enclosure,about 5 minutes ago.. I actually lost one of my best breeders last summer due to being upside down in the hot sun. I'm assuming another one is turning them over,as there is nothing for them to climb on.
 

loyolaboy98

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Thank you for all your help, i already had a vet appointment set up for today and he said he was fine.
 
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