Tortoise Flipping

emerald_8122

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Hello!
My 1 year old Hermann’s Tortoise has a large 6x8’ outdoor enclosure. Lots of sun and shade and no shortage of food (plantain, clover, dandelion, pansies etc). We often find him trying to crawl up one of the corners of the enclosure and we have found him flipped on his back several times. This is a corner of the enclosure that gets lots of sun and we check him frequently but I am afraid that one day it will not be soon enough. This morning I put a clay pot in the back corner and now he is trying to climb up the pot :(. Please help! Any ideas or suggestions welcome!
 

daniellenc

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You’ll have to block the corners and maybe add more stuff to the enclosure to keep him occupied. Post a pic someone will have ideas.
 

emerald_8122

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Thanks for the reply! Here is a picture from the beginning of summer. There are more plants now, and a large area to the right that you can’t see, including shade and a wooden house that he sleeps in. The problem corner is the back left corner, which has lots of plaintain and as of this morning a half buried flower pot! He does enjoy climbing on the log but we have never seen him fall or flip from there.
 

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emerald_8122

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Ok, thanks for the suggestions. I will add a bigger plant and a piece of wood. You’d think he would figure it out after ending up helpless and upside down a couple of times!
 

Brian Perry

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Hello!
My 1 year old Hermann’s Tortoise has a large 6x8’ outdoor enclosure. Lots of sun and shade and no shortage of food (plantain, clover, dandelion, pansies etc). We often find him trying to crawl up one of the corners of the enclosure and we have found him flipped on his back several times. This is a corner of the enclosure that gets lots of sun and we check him frequently but I am afraid that one day it will not be soon enough. This morning I put a clay pot in the back corner and now he is trying to climb up the pot :(. Please help! Any ideas or suggestions welcome!

I don't have anything to add about the flipping issue, but that is certainly a very nicely executed outdoor habitat.
 

emerald_8122

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Is the tortoise able to right himself after a roll over?
No, I don’t think so... On the weekend we were leaving the house and I went back to check on him, fill his water and bring food. I saw him heading for the back corner and next time I looked 30 seconds later he was upside down and not even trying to flip back!
 

Bee62

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No, I don’t think so... On the weekend we were leaving the house and I went back to check on him, fill his water and bring food. I saw him heading for the back corner and next time I looked 30 seconds later he was upside down and not even trying to flip back!
Hermanns tortoises are excellent climbers and they mostly are excellent in getting back on their feet after flipping.
When you see your tortoise on the back, - wait ! The tortoise will start to move the legs to get contact with the ground. If that don`t work he will start to make fast movements with the legs to get into a better position for flipping back.
Sometimes it needs a few minutes but this is not dangerous for your tort.
Let your tort climb and let him learn to get back on his feet. Natural soil has the best grip for tortoise claws to flip them back.
 

helosoldier66

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Be careful about what you add close to walls or corners I found one of my Russians climbing half way up a hibiscus plant. She was after the flowers but could have been an escape route in a different location.
 

Toddrickfl1

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Eliminate the corners if you can. My RF was doing the same thing. Take a piece of wood and put it diagonally across the corner so it's more rounded and not a 45 degree angle. This might help, there's something about corners that entices them to want to climb
 

wellington

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Try a looser ground cover like letting a bunch of weeds or taller thick grass to grow. Also plant a couple plants near/in the corner to block the sun from beating on her should she flip. The loose weeds, grass, gives their feet something to grab onto when trying to right themselves.
 

ascott

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No, I don’t think so... On the weekend we were leaving the house and I went back to check on him, fill his water and bring food. I saw him heading for the back corner and next time I looked 30 seconds later he was upside down and not even trying to flip back!

If you have a habitual flipper/roll over tort....you can also temporarily adhere a slice of the pink childhood erasers to the tortoise shell (make sure it is adhered so it does not easily come off but a human can later remove) which will act as a kind of kickstand which will let the tort be at a slant which will aid in the tort being able right itself when alone....
 

TammyJ

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This is a really nice, BIG enclosure! Maybe you could put protective mesh wire over it, he seems so vulnerable, unless the mesh is there and I don't see it?
As for the flipping, I think Ascot has a brilliant idea!
 

emerald_8122

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Wow, I somehow missed these last few messages! Thanks for all your responses! It is encouraging to know that Hermann's tortoises are good climbers and that my little friend may get better at flipping himself back over. It is a great suggestion about the foliage and plants in the enclosure to help him gain purchase if needed and I am working on increasing the ground cover. For the time being, the problem appears to have been solved as the flower pot in the corner now serves as an extra little hiding place and we have not found him flipped in weeks. I'm so relieved. The enclosure extends a couple feet to the right, beyond what is shown in the picture, which is more shaded, as it is covered with wood/chicken wire (his favourite night time hiding spot is a wooden house on this side of the enclosure). My husband was also kind enough to build a fairly sturdy split lid with 2x4 frame and a heavy gauge chicken wire, in the picture the lids have both been raised for access. They have hooks to attach to the shed the enclosure is beside to hold them up and also to close them tight in the case of nighttime predators. Thanks again for all your feedback, I appreciate it so much.
 

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