Need advice hissing when tortoise on back

[Augustus1508]

I really hope Im putting this in the right forum, but if not I apologise!

So my 1 year old augustus fell on his back from trying to climb (again) he wasnt near any heat and he wasnt there for longer than id say about 10 minutes.

When I got to him and open his vivarium to right him as there was something block his leg from moving back (he has started getting better at righting himself)

I noticed he started to his more than usual with his head going into his shell and this made me panic as I wasnt sure what was going on - i can understand when theyre on their backs it causes stress for him. But out of the times ive seen him fall this was the first this has happened all the other times was him hissing because I was getting close to him to grab him up.

Can someone give some advice on what this could've been and if its anything worrying?

As soon as I got him out hes been wondering, eating, all the usual stuff so I imagine it hasn't caused any damage to him. But the noise was scary to hear!

 

[TammyJ]

I don't think you have any reason to worry about the timing, quality or longevity of his hiss.
Maybe you can tell us about how he is kept, his enclosure size, conditions and diet, etc. and we may get some good ideas for you

 

[Augustus1508]

I don't think you have any reason to worry about the timing, quality or longevity of his hiss.
Maybe you can tell us about how he is kept, his enclosure size, conditions and diet, etc. and we may get some good ideas for you

Hes in a 4ft vivarium which were hoping to upgrade to 6ft in the coming months, currently using topsoil and orchid bark chips but changing top soil to coco coir when my order comes in, diet is varied green leafs with the arcadia grass blocks (cant remember exact name) and using arcadia supplement calcium powder on his veggies, doesn't tend to have fruits unless very very occasionally. Temps on warm side are 32-35 degrees, cool side is around 24 and his humidity is 84+

 

[Stephen Gutierrez]

I really hope Im putting this in the right forum, but if not I apologise!

So my 1 year old augustus fell on his back from trying to climb (again) he wasnt near any heat and he wasnt there for longer than id say about 10 minutes.

When I got to him and open his vivarium to right him as there was something block his leg from moving back (he has started getting better at righting himself)

I noticed he started to his more than usual with his head going into his shell and this made me panic as I wasnt sure what was going on - i can understand when theyre on their backs it causes stress for him. But out of the times ive seen him fall this was the first this has happened all the other times was him hissing because I was getting close to him to grab him up.

Can someone give some advice on what this could've been and if its anything worrying?

As soon as I got him out hes been wondering, eating, all the usual stuff so I imagine it hasn't caused any damage to him. But the noise was scary to hear!

It sounds like your tortoise was just stressed from being flipped over. When they hiss and pull into their shell, it’s usually a defense reaction, not pain. Since he’s walking, eating, and behaving normally now, there’s likely no injury. Just make sure his enclosure setup reduces climbing hazards to prevent future falls.

 

[Augustus1508]

It sounds like your tortoise was just stressed from being flipped over. When they hiss and pull into their shell, it’s usually a defense reaction, not pain. Since he’s walking, eating, and behaving normally now, there’s likely no injury. Just make sure his enclosure setup reduces climbing hazards to prevent future falls.

I thought it may have just been that but wanted to double check. We found the cause of why he fell and its because he wants to climb as high as he possibly can! So hopefully no further falls from now on fingers crossed

 

[TammyJ]

What species of tortoise is Augustus?
Can you post some pictures?