HELP. Baby Tortoise was flipped =(

MzNENA

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Awoke this morning to find our little 3 month old Ibera Greek Squirtle on a side of his enclosure he never visits, flipped onto his back :(

I am unaware how long he was flipped for, but I will be removing his half log before his bed time from now on.
He usually burrows under a plant at bed time.

What precautions can I take now for him and what should I do for him now? He seems just a bit out of it found him with his eyes closed :(
Currently soaking him this very moment. Should.
Doing his regular 20min soak or should it be a bit little longer in this instance?

As he is soaking he is stretching out his head quite a lot.
Actively hides his head immediately when I spray him.
Hope this won't cause major damage.
Love our little tort :(
This is the first time this has happened.

He always lays like this during his soaks. Asleep with his legs and arms spread lol Relaxed
He is currently under his basking light now and actively walking around
 

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pfara

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As scary as it looked, all should be fine. Just monitor activity levels for a few days. Looks like you've become a member of the "first time tortoise flip" club. Welcome! :D
 

MzNENA

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Quite the frightening experience I'll tell ya.
Found him on his back with his eyes closed, thought he was a gonner :(:(
Tears already in my eyes lol
He is currently devouring his breakfast greens so should be a good sign.
He is active at the moment, but is typically lazy & sleeps for most of his days.

Any specific things I should be looking out for during the next few days?
 

pfara

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I'd just watch for a lessening of activity, not eating, drinking or pooping. However, it sounds like your guy is just messing with ya. He might do that a few more times before he finally gets the hint. Motherhood is a wonderful thing :p
 

MzNENA

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Indeed it is! Good thing, is that when my son flips on his back, he knows how to flip himself back over. But that was a process as well when he was just a baby so this is pretty much the same lol

We deal with the
Ooohs
The Awwws
The Ewwwws
and the OMG what happened!? :s lol
But true, with time they'll learn.
I'll definitely keep an out out for those things. Thank you so much for the reply, you've put my mind at ease :)
 

gieseygirly

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Aaaww, such a little pumpkin. I know exactly how you felt when you discovered this. You've probably spent every day after the occurrence check, double-checking, checking some more, etc, etc, etc. It happened to me more than 2 months ago, and I still find myself checking my lil guy every hour when I'm home. And I text my husband and have him check when I'm not home.
 

MzNENA

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Yes it was terrifying :(:(
As I mentioned above I found him in the morning, not knowing how long he had been flipped and with his eyes closed. I thought I was too late. Immediately flipped him and soaked him and so far he's been good. Eating, and wandering around.

I HAVE found myself checking him more than usual, now lol. About every hour as you mentioned.
He flipped over, climbing his half log which is really small, he never uses it and mostly burrows so thinking I may take the log out at least at night to prevent this from happening again :-/

My husband was awake before me this morning but he knows I mostly take care of our tort and thought he'd still be asleep so he failed to check on him.

I'll definitely hound him now to check on him whenever he's up before I am lol
 

Jlant85

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I bet your heart flipped when you first saw this. Lol. Don't worry to much. They should be able to flip themselves over. Just check the enclosure and see what could have cost this. Move things around that can cause them to flip so this won't happen again.
 

MzNENA

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I was! Removed his half log from the enclosure, immediately. He never uses it only seems to get stuck near it or flipped over as was the case this morning :-/ I'll put it back once he grows bigger.

Still a bit afraid, read previous forum threads mentioning lungs being crushed and intestinal issues afterward with dead tortoises following the next day.

As I mentioned I have no idea how long little Squirtle was flipped onto his back so I've been watching him like a hawk today. Don't know what I'd do if anything happened to him. So far so good, hoping no damage was done
 

Jlant85

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You can place the log (im assuming this is his hide) in the middle of the enclosure ^_^v
 

pfara

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Try not to imagine the worst. You just HAD to read the worst post, didn't you? Did you read the endless other flipping posts that every other forum member posted? Apparently torts seem to like to give their parents a few scares in the beginning; they have a sick sense of humor like that. It happens and more often than not, the torts are fine. I'll allow you to check on your little one more often (cuz I had to do that for about two weeks when my guys had the flip tantrums), but I won't let you worry yourself sick about worst case scenarios :p
 

MzNENA

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Yes it is his hide lol
Although he never uses it to hide, he chooses to hide under the leaves of plants in his enclosure ^^;
But great idea! Thank you :D
 

MzNENA

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Haha yes it was sadly one of the first posts I came across when searching the topic on the forum :(
Giving it was a sulcata and desert tortoise I read about still very sad news :-/
But yes you are right! Must take it for what it is. My little one is alive, doing well and back to his regular routine. So got to calm my nerves. Being a new tort mom arises so many questions especially when joining a place in which you can ask endless questions lol
But thank you for that. I'll keep a closer eye on my little daredevil. With his attitude lately, eating habits and lack of shyness i really think I have a male tort on my hands lol :D
 

Jlant85

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It's ok to ask questions. I think we all went through that phase when we all got out first tort. I know I did. We are all here to help each other out. I wouldn't be where I am now I if it want for this forum. ^_^v
 
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