Hello! I am new here.

45Charlie0ct

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Oct 17, 2018
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TX
Hello, I am new here and was wanting some advice. I bought my 1 year old sulcata in Sept of last year. I have owned turtles and different tortoises my whole life. I have never experienced them flipping over. I have an indoor cage and an outdoor enclosure for when I am home. My husband had to surround the inside of the cage with wood and he put corner wood pieces one top of the corners so he could not climb because that is the most places he flips. That took care of it for several months. Now that he has grown it has started again. I was thinking we will just replace with taller wood but thought I would run it by you all. Unfortunately I do have to work part of the day and am gone but he is flipping over so often I am scared to leave now. He has never been successful in flipping himself/ herself back over that I know of. How long can they servive on there backs at this young age? Will this be a constant issue? Please help!
 

T Smart

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Hi, and welcome!

Do you mind posting a picture of your setup? It’ll give us a better idea of a potential fix.
 

Yvonne G

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It may be that he has outgrown his enclosure. Another think to think about is if you have ever allowed him outside of his enclosure, he now knows that there's more to the world than what's inside his walls, and he wants back out. We'll be better able to help you once we've seen pictures of the tortoise and his enclosure.
 

45Charlie0ct

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Location (City and/or State)
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His indoor enclosure might be a little small and that is why I let him out often. He flips in his outdoor enclosure also which is much bigger. And it is usually the corners. Right now I think that the boards we put up are too short and he is getting his arms up on top and trying to pull himself up. Same for the outdoor enclosure. I just wanted to get everyones advice before I tried anything. Maybe someone has a better idea than what I was going to do. I do let him run the backyard when I am out there and when it is not too cold or wet. I have to be careful because I have had a hawk dive down after him right in front of me. Did not know a hawk would go after a tortoise?
Hopefully you can get an idea with this picture. It is dark so I can not get one of the out door one. Just so everyone knows the pieces in the corners prevented him from flipping before and the box to the left is putting weight on his hide because he was climbing on the inside of the brick and nocking that little piece of wood on top down and flipping over that way. My though is to maybe line the inside walls with something that is smooth so if he tries to climb that he will just slide down.
Thank you for your help!!!!thumbnail.jpeg
 

Ray--Opo

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Put in a cam so you can monitor by your phone from anywhere. I did this from advice from Tom. It took a lot of worrying from me. If he flips while you are not there maybe you can have a family or friend help you out.
 

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