Flip or not Flip ?

[chaloman]

Hello everyone

I have my sulcatas and leos in a indoor enclousure , they are doing fine but i have found two of my leos on their back more often , every time i see them i put them back in their feet right away but should i do it ? Or should i wait until they do it by themselves ? I have been told that they have to learn to do it when they are hatchlings.. Is it something they learn ? Or they just do it by instinct ? Its hard to see them struggle..

Thanks

 

[Tom]

Do you mean they are together in the same enclosure? What size tortoises are we talking about?

Tortoises don't "learn" to right themselves. Its an instinct. They either have something to get ahold of or they don't.

You need to figure out what is causing them to flip and eliminate that from the enclosure.

 

[chaloman]

Do you mean they are together in the same enclosure? What size tortoises are we talking about?

Tortoises don't "learn" to right themselves. Its an instinct. They either have something to get ahold of or they don't.

You need to figure out what is causing them to flip and eliminate that from the enclosure.

Yes they are together , both are hatchlings , i would say 2 inch , there is a biger one there he is about 4 inch , can he be the cause ?

 

[Tom]

Yes, and its likely. They should be separated. Especially those two species. They are very incompatible behaviorally speaking.

 

[chaloman]

Do you mean they are together in the same enclosure? What size tortoises are we talking about?

Tortoises don't "learn" to right themselves. Its an instinct. They either have something to get ahold of or they don't.

You need to figure out what is causing them to flip and eliminate that from the enclosure.

Ok but the fact that i help them, can that affect their ability to flip over ? I just wanna be sure that they know how to flip without my help and that they dont have to wait for me .

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Yes, and its likely. They should be separated. Especially those two species. They are very incompatible behaviorally speaking.

Sorry i wasnt clear , the leos are in one enclousure , the sulcatas in other

 

[Tom]

Unless they can get a decent foot hold somewhere, or they are on an incline and can use momentum to right themselves, you have to help them. You helping them will not make them somehow not able to right themselves when you are not around. When no person is there, they can either do it themselves or they can't. If one tortoise is bigger than the other, then yes, he could be bowling the other one over. He might not even be doing it on purpose.

 

[CtTortoiseMom]

There have been many stories on here about tortoises flipping while their owner is out and they come back to find a dead tortoise. I would flip them upright as soon as you see it and really try and figure out the cause. My hatchling kept trying to climb a half of log hide and flipping. I ended up removing the hide.

 

[mainey34]

Its possible that one of them are bullying the other and fipping them. This is why they need seperate enclosures.

 

[chaloman]

There have been many stories on here about tortoises flipping while their owner is out and they come back to find a dead tortoise. I would flip them upright as soon as you see it and really try and figure out the cause. My hatchling kept trying to climb a half of log hide and flipping. I ended up removing the hide.

Thats what i do , and honestly i could not be there just standing wating for them to turn themselves back on their feet , and now that you mention , i have seen one of them climbing his hide..

---

Unless they can get a decent foot hold somewhere, or they are on an incline and can use momentum to right themselves, you have to help them. You helping them will not make them somehow not able to right themselves when you are not around. When no person is there, they can either do it themselves or they can't. If one tortoise is bigger than the other, then yes, he could be bowling the other one over. He might not even be doing it on purpose.

Capisco ! I will put more atention and see whats going on . Thanksn

 

[arotester]

I have two separate enclosures for my two torts but still i had that problem of flipping ,so i raised the enclosure wall so high that they couldn't see out of it.This solved my problem,you can try it.

 

[PantAaroN]

There have been many stories on here about tortoises flipping while their owner is out and they come back to find a dead tortoise. I would flip them upright as soon as you see it and really try and figure out the cause. My hatchling kept trying to climb a half of log hide and flipping. I ended up removing the hide.

My hatchling used to flip over all the time on his half log. Now what I did instead was build up walls around the sides and bury it so it is more of a little hill, then dug out the inside so he can still fit in there and get out easily. My main problem right now is him flipping getting in and out of his water bowl... Unfortunately I was coaxed into buying the petco reptile water bowl and it has a very steep wall on it. Anyone have any other watering bowl suggestions?

 

[CtTortoiseMom]

There have been many stories on here about tortoises flipping while their owner is out and they come back to find a dead tortoise. I would flip them upright as soon as you see it and really try and figure out the cause. My hatchling kept trying to climb a half of log hide and flipping. I ended up removing the hide.

My hatchling used to flip over all the time on his half log. Now what I did instead was build up walls around the sides and bury it so it is more of a little hill, then dug out the inside so he can still fit in there and get out easily. My main problem right now is him flipping getting in and out of his water bowl... Unfortunately I was coaxed into buying the petco reptile water bowl and it has a very steep wall on it. Anyone have any other watering bowl suggestions?

I had that water bowl too and I believe it was Tom who warned me about the flipping danger with it. I use the terra cotta bowls from home depot. I think they are actually designed to put potted plants on but I and many other people on here use them. It was on TFO's advice that I got them.

 

[Tom]

Terra cotta plant saucers. They only cost a few bucks. Sink them into the substrate so they are level with the surface. They have lots of different sizes, so they can grow with you tortoise.

 

[Yvonne G]

If I see a turtle or tortoise on its back I always turn them over. I have gotten up in the morning to find a dead baby box turtle on its back quite often. Some turtles are able to right themselves and some aren't. I always help them.