Quince Wood
Member
What do you do when you find your tort on its back do you flip it over or let him do it himself?
Question is, what is too long? A few minutes or even hours probably aren't. A tortoise on its back that can't right itself will die of dehydration or be killed by predators long before it asphyxiates. Whalers and pirates used to raid the Galapagos islands for giant tortoises, take them onto their ships and have them suffer on their backs there for weeks, to have a source of fresh meat.Their lungs are in the top of their carapace and they can die if left in that position too long.
Question is, what is too long? A few minutes or even hours probably aren't. A tortoise on its back that can't right itself will die of dehydration or be killed by predators long before it asphyxiates. Whalers and pirates used to raid the Galapagos islands for giant tortoises, take them onto their ships and have them suffer on their backs there for weeks, to have a source of fresh meat.
Anyway, when I find my tortoises on their backs, and they're still trying to right themselves, I wait for a couple of seconds to see if they can manage on their own. If they fail, it's usually because the ground is too soft or flat to get the necessary grip. So I lend them a hand/finger from which they can push themselves off. I like to imagine that they feel more accomplished this way than if I had turned them.
Yeah, I know what you mean.I do not think that a 150 pound tortoise on his back will live for hours. That's my opinion from having big tortoises. I may be wrong, but I am not willing to find out.