tortcaden
Member
My tortoise was walking around and fell about a foot and a half onto his back!!! He seems fine. His shell looks ok. I am terrified and wanted to know if I should look for any symptoms!!
Fell on his back
- Thread starter tortcaden
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Bambam1989
Well-Known Member
Where was your tort at that he was able to fall so far?
He may be a little shaken from the fall so if he seems skittish it would be expected. I would watch and make sure that he is walking normally, watch for normal bowel movements over the next few days too.
He may be a little shaken from the fall so if he seems skittish it would be expected. I would watch and make sure that he is walking normally, watch for normal bowel movements over the next few days too.
tortcaden
Member
The bowel movements will be hard to track because he is not exactly predictable
tortcaden
Member
Thank you for responding so quickly
Bambam1989
Well-Known Member
Your welcome. Sudden jarring/ extreme falls and flips have the potential of twisting the insides if I remember correctly. Long warm soaks can help stimulate pooping, if he is pooping then that's a good sign things are functioning properly.
@Yvonne G has quite a bit of experience with caring for injured torts (does rescues) she may be able to give more advice.
@Yvonne G has quite a bit of experience with caring for injured torts (does rescues) she may be able to give more advice.
tortcaden
Member
How can I get to yvonne
Where was he when he fell? Was he in his enclosure or were you letting him roam your house?
Bambam1989
Well-Known Member
When I typed her name it should send her an alert. So next time she is on she will see it.
tortcaden
Member
He was roaming and I left went to get a piece of lettuce. I heard a thud and immediately ran to get him. I could still see him where I was.
tortcaden
Member
He seems to be walking fine now
Your tort should never be able to roam your house, and this is one of the reasons why. It is too cold, and too many bad things happen like you see here.
Your tortoise needs a nice, large enclosure that he can stay in at all times.
Bambam1989
Well-Known Member
So he was on the table? On stairs? Sorry just still a little unsure of how he fell.
When I want to spend time with my tort I use a large, low sided plastic tub. It prevents him from getting into anything or being exposed to the hazards of a floor. I use this time to offer my tort any new types of food and occasionally treats. Also for photos..
tortcaden
Member
There is a small step in my house and he has observed it several times and always kept his distance so I did not see this as a problem. I will now definitely take more precautions if I want to remove him from his habitat thank you for your interest
You don’t need to take more precautions, you need to not let him roam at all.
As you can see, it doesn’t matter how careful you are, how carefully you’re watching, or how many precaution you take. Bad things WILL happen, and it’s just a matter of time before something like this happens again. If you want to have fun seeing your tortoise explore, try placing food in different places in his enclosure for him to find, or build an outside enclosure to use when the weather’s nice.
tortcaden
Member
I am sorry I misspoke I meant that I would only bring him outside to that habitat and I took your advice to heart. I will make sure that both of his habitats have all precautions taken. Thank you for your time.
Ah, ok! I think that as long as your tort is acting fine, walking, eating, etc., he should be fine. Sorry I misunderstood you
tortcaden
Member
Thank you for your help
