Flipping

Cleopatra 2020

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Feb 1, 2020
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El Mirage. Az
Our 4 and a half month old female leopard tortoise has recently discovered how to flip herself over and has me worried...shes done it twice in the last week so I removed her hide and gave her a different smaller smooth hide for now...also she made a mess of things the breeder said she was probably having a tantrum or hungry.......so I'm assuming this is somewhat nor.al behavior just wondering if it will pass....was thinking of getting a nanny cam....is there anything I should do or know???.... just curious ❤?
 

ZEROPILOT

REDFOOT WRANGLER
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Some babies flip more than others and most tortoises stop to some extent with age and experience.
Until then, you'll have to stay vigilant and keep tweaking the enclosure and modifying or removing anything that might be a flip hazard.
DO NOT have any lights directly above any area that you've seen your tortoise flipped over.
A heat lamp over a flipped tortoise can cause death pretty quickly.
 

Sarah2020

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I had same problem as Russians love to climb and explore. I removed all hides and now have terracotta flower pots on there side with flower pot stands holding in place. I have flat ish stones to provide a small climb and height. It was very concerning and annoying to find legs kicking in the air! Have a look at everything and remove what is causing it. You can return the items in years to come as I think weight and gravity will help in future.?
 

Cleopatra 2020

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Feb 1, 2020
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609
Location (City and/or State)
El Mirage. Az
I had same problem as Russians love to climb and explore. I removed all hides and now have terracotta flower pots on there side with flower pot stands holding in place. I have flat ish stones to provide a small climb and height. It was very concerning and annoying to find legs kicking in the air! Have a look at everything and remove what is causing it. You can return the items in years to come as I think weight and gravity will help in future.?
yeah the fact that she's getting fat and growing out sideways is a good thing that'll definitely make it hard for her to flip in the future
 
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