Accident prone Hermanns

zentort

New Member
Joined
Jun 17, 2018
Messages
15
Location (City and/or State)
Birmingham, UK
Had my little tort three weeks now, he's 8 months old. I don't think these count as beginners mistakes so much as they're all round stupidity on my part (and maybe Gemini, a little).

1. Gemini learned how to climb a brick wall next to his tort table. I only realised when I saw him fall from about 4 feet up onto a wooden floor.

2. Realising he liked to climb, I moved his table but got him some little toy steps which doubled as a hide. Can't see Gemini when I go to put him outside, start to panic, pull everything out of the tort table, no sign. He's clutched on to the underside of his hide stairs (which I'd taken out about 30 minutes earlier) with his leg trapped in one of the seals.

3. He escaped from his indoor enclosure, no idea how, and walked straight into a human carpet gripstick (with tacks every few milimeters).

4. I'm cleaning out the substrate, idly tossing it into a box. Gemini was RIGHT UP THE TOP OF HIS ENCLOSURE three seconds beforehand. Then he wasn't. I'd thrown him into the box with the substrate (lil guy only weighs 50g).

5. Put up wire mesh on his outdoor enclosure & think I'm a hero. Kneel down to lift it & take Gemini out the first night, wire mesh bounces back & falls on us,scratches my wrist so badly it bleeds for an hour... lord knows how much it hurt my tort.

Little guy is fine, no shell damage, not off his food or anything, still climbing & burrowing, although he's been a bit more placid since the throwing into a box incident... convinced he'll 'death by misadventure' before he reaches his 1st birthday at this point, but certainly don't want to keep him restricted to a table for the rest of his life..!

Please tell me I'm not alone...?
 

Taylor T.

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2014
Messages
589
Location (City and/or State)
New England
I'm pretty sure most, if not all, of these issues are easily preventable.

1. Correct me if I'm wrong, but does this mean he was on the floor? This is a a very bad idea, as they can eat something bad, get stepped on, get hit by a door, or just slowly get hip issues from walking on a slippery wood floor. Solution: don't put him on the floor. Or if he was in his enclosure, and escaped, see my answer for question three.

2. Don't use that hide if he can get his leg stuck in it.

3. If he can escape his enclosure, the enclosure needs to be fixed. The wire you put on top will work to keep him in, but he will continue to try escaping unless you make his enclosure very large. How large is his current one?

4. Be more careful?

5. Try putting tape or a rubbery glue over the ends of the wire, or at least filing them down so that they are not sharp.
 

zentort

New Member
Joined
Jun 17, 2018
Messages
15
Location (City and/or State)
Birmingham, UK
I'm pretty sure most, if not all, of these issues are easily preventable.

1. Correct me if I'm wrong, but does this mean he was on the floor? This is a a very bad idea, as they can eat something bad, get stepped on, get hit by a door, or just slowly get hip issues from walking on a slippery wood floor. Solution: don't put him on the floor. Or if he was in his enclosure, and escaped, see my answer for question three.

2. Don't use that hide if he can get his leg stuck in it.

3. If he can escape his enclosure, the enclosure needs to be fixed. The wire you put on top will work to keep him in, but he will continue to try escaping unless you make his enclosure very large. How large is his current one?

4. Be more careful?

5. Try putting tape or a rubbery glue over the ends of the wire, or at least filing them down so that they are not sharp.


4. YES I KNOW!!! ARGH

1. Tort table was slightly elevated off floor, he climbed out over the side of his table diagnoally up the wall.

3. He's yet to escape his outside enclosure with wire on. He's tried to burrow out, but nope... it's HUGE. 6' x 4'.
Indoor enclosure (not tort table, which is in another building) is 2 a two story 8' by 1.5' & yet to work out HOW he's getting out. He's spoiled for space.
May have to get webcam on him, three humans have declared it 'unescapable' (unless he's climbing walls and deliberately dropping down to get out)

2. Hide has been binned! I sell Chinese made good, so I shouldn't but.... Damn Chinese made goods.

5. Really good idea, I have to do something.

Lol, he sounds like a real piece of work!

Yeah. He also really loves my boobs & pooped on them this morning. Haven't laughed so hard in a very long time, no other guy I'd let do that to me!!!
 
Top