MoreCowbellAz
Member
I have a 6-7 month old DT, about 2.5" shell width, indoor enclosure with with coco substrate. A couple times now he's managed to flip himself over onto his back (now that the weather is getting warm he's much more active and climbs at the side a lot), and to my horror he's had a difficult time flipping back over onto his belly. Scared me to death when I came home and saw him because I can't supervise him all day long and I don't want a tragedy. (I don't think he was on his back super long, he seemed fine afterwards, ate right away, etc, but still super scary). Anyway, the problem seems be the coco was too soft/fluffy and when he'd try to use his head/neck as leverage it would just dig into the substrate rather than allow him to leverage his body up and flip back over. Admittedly the coco was pretty dry on top, and it's pretty soft and fluffy when dry. So at least temporarily I started spraying down the surface now so it stays a little more packed down and firm, I think that would make the surface firm enough for him to leverage back over if he winds up on his back again. FYI I never let the substrate completely dry out all the way through, but during the winter it did get dry on top because I didn't wet it as much or as often.
Is simply keeping to sprayed/moist on top my best solution safety wise, or should I go to like Orchid bark where maybe the surface stays a little firmer than coco? Is that even the case? I've not used orchid bark before, and in fact this is my first go round with tort ownership, been educating myself since Sept when I unexpectedly became DT rescue dad. So new seasons, new problems to solve but I'm determine to get it right.
Is simply keeping to sprayed/moist on top my best solution safety wise, or should I go to like Orchid bark where maybe the surface stays a little firmer than coco? Is that even the case? I've not used orchid bark before, and in fact this is my first go round with tort ownership, been educating myself since Sept when I unexpectedly became DT rescue dad. So new seasons, new problems to solve but I'm determine to get it right.