Desert Tortoise has me in disbelief after climbing block wall

JohnnyB65

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My daughter asked me about my tort on top of an 18”concrete block wall that serves as a planter box. I thought she was talking about my garden ornaments, but was shocked when I saw it. I was afraid that he would be hurt if he tried getting down on his own so I quickly moved him down. I have no idea as to how he got up there or if he’s ever been up there before and now I’m deeply concerned.

So I guess I have to keep my eye on him from now on, but I wonder if this is a real problem. I would think it would be disastrous and even if he did survive the fall, I’m afraid that he might get stuck upside down in the hot sun.
 

Tidgy's Dad

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Some tortoises are prodigious climbers.
It's quite astonishing.
You need a lip, a kind of overhang so the tortoise can't climb the wall.
 

Tidgy's Dad

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Post a pic of the problem wall/box and we can possibly help you make it climb safe.
Just an FYI, you missed a good photo op. Would have loved to seen his proud face sitting up there.:D
Yep, would love to have seen that!
Any chance you could put him back up there and take a snap ?;)
(kidding)
 

dmmj

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there are many misconceptions about tortoises don't, You believe it until you see yojulurself. Solving the problem may be as simple as putting some type of lip around the top of the wall. But the picture would help us know for sure.
 

JohnnyB65

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Post a pic of the problem wall/box and we can possibly help you make it climb safe.
Just an FYI, you missed a good photo op. Would have loved to seen his proud face sitting up there.:D
Sorry about not getting back right away, but my grandson came home from school and jumped on the computer right away.

OK, well my Tortoise is deep inside his burrow now and I was too shocked at the time to think of a photo. I don't know exactly where he got up, but he was right on the end snuggled in the pine needles. I put some rocks on top of the blocks in hopes of discouraging him, but not sure if it will work.

Tortoise%20Planter_zpsbynorjuw.jpg
 

Tidgy's Dad

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Oh, a little wall !
i was imagining a five footer!
That one's no problem for many a tort, a Russian would pole vault it.
But seriously, if your tortoise can only get at it from the side we can see, then move that thin capping stone out an inch or so to form a lip and that should stop him.
 

JohnnyB65

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Oh, a little wall !
i was imagining a five footer!
That one's no problem for many a tort, a Russian would pole vault it.
But seriously, if your tortoise can only get at it from the side we can see, then move that thin capping stone out an inch or so to form a lip and that should stop him.
So how do you think he got up there, could he have pulled himself up? It's just hard for me to believe because a couple of years ago he fell over trying to climb the AC unit,

deserttortoisetipover001_zps271c8a78.jpg
 

Tidgy's Dad

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i don't know about your species, but a Russian could do it easily and the Greeks here in Morocco, too.
If my little Tidgy had a chance, she'd certainly climb it, but your tortoise seems bigger and, yes, I reckon he hauled himself up there.
They don't learn and they don't give up. (or not for a very long time anyway).
 

wellington

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I agree. He could have even used the corner there where the lower wall meets the taller hide wall. My Russian has climbed a tree, straight up. I know yours isn't a Russian, but a little leverage from the ruff brick and that's all he would need to be able to work his way up. It's amazing what they can do. The rocks you have up there will probably stop him from getting on top. Moving the top ledge brick should stop him from getting far enough to even reach the rocks.
Love the pic btw. They can climb, but most of at least a lot of them can't right themselves. Go figure.
 

Kenno

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I've got a climber, too. One day I caught him going over a garden fence and realized that I had only seen his back legs from the knee down. On this day he was using his long thighs as well! He can stand against a fence with the back end of his shell six or more inches off the ground!
 

JoesMum

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Sorry about not getting back right away, but my grandson came home from school and jumped on the computer right away.

OK, well my Tortoise is deep inside his burrow now and I was too shocked at the time to think of a photo. I don't know exactly where he got up, but he was right on the end snuggled in the pine needles. I put some rocks on top of the blocks in hopes of discouraging him, but not sure if it will work.

Tortoise%20Planter_zpsbynorjuw.jpg
My Greek, Joe would have no problem with that. He climbs steps easily.

The wall needs to be much higher with an overhanging cap on it to prevent escape.
 

JohnnyB65

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I’ve been busy today but I have been watching for him to come out and then I noticed that he already ate his food. So I started to look for him and discovered him back up in the planter box again with the added rocks.

DSCN2189_1_zpswgab7hoj.jpg


Well there was no way he could have gotten past the rocks so I started looking for another way and realized that the only way up was in the vines. I didn’t notice it yesterday because I didn’t think he could get through that way. The planter has been overrun with grasshoppers and I just assumed that all the damage was from them although I would have expected a lot more damage from my tort.

DSCN2190_1_zpsg6541vdh.jpg


I may have to change his name to Tarzan :D

Anyway I’ve been thinking about this and now that I’m over the initial shock, I like idea of him getting climbing exercise as long as he can get down safely. I was thinking of building him a ramp and a safety rail so he doesn’t fall. The safety rail will have to take some thinking because I don’t want him to climb over rail.

Now that I know that he can climb, I’m worried about him getting into my fish pond which is stepped up the sides. I think it would be easier to climb than the wall.

IMG_3368.jpg
 

Big Charlie

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He looks so proud. I bet he likes that spot because it is kind of hidden, shady and probably damp. Does he have other areas that are dirt or vegetation covered and shady? All I can see in your pictures are rocks.
 

JohnnyB65

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He looks so proud. I bet he likes that spot because it is kind of hidden, shady and probably damp. Does he have other areas that are dirt or vegetation covered and shady? All I can see in your pictures are rocks.

I do water the planter box and was thinking that the moisture may have drawn him up there as well because it is cooler.

He does not have any vegetation outside of planters because my neighbor planted pine trees within 18” of our common wall and the roots are cracking the wall and damaging my pond. I covered the entire area with concrete to keep water from getting into the ground. I also installed pipes into the ground along the wall in front of each tree so I can regularly pour root killer into trying to kill any roots on my side of the wall.

I do squirt water down the entryway to my torts burrow to add a little moisture, but I had isolated the burrow area with plastic so no moisture reaches the tree roots.

Below is an older photo of his area and I have enlarged the burrow since then, but it’s almost dark now and I don’t have current photo right now.

MrTsnewlandscaping.jpg
 

Levi the Leopard

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Does the tree neighbor know how much their trees location is affecting your yard? Sounds like a headache to deal with.
 

Big Charlie

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Does the tree neighbor know how much their trees location is affecting your yard? Sounds like a headache to deal with.
I don't think there is anything you can do about it. My neighbor has redwood trees that hang over my pool, dropping cones in it, and making it too cold to swim in most of the time. If I could move the pool, I would!
 
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