Help! He's flipping

[Kelseystandefer]

I have a Russian tortioses who is trying to excape and flips himself over, I can't watch him 24/7 so I stress over it!! His tub is 4x3x2 he has half rocks and half coconut fiber with a heat light, uvb, and a large water dish. And I let him out when I get home. I think he has plenty of room and is fairly small. I posted on a reptile page on Facebook and they were not helpful and acted like I was an awful tort mom one of them even told me to give him deep enough water to swim around...... But they can't swim..please I need some help!

 

[johnandjade]

hi there, welcome to the tortoise mecca

have you seen the care sheets yet? i have read that russians are hardy little fellows and are rather fond of escape and climbing so don't worry, it's what they do

I can't view the pictures , someone who knows better will be along to help advise you, I would suggest removing 'flip hazards' such as rocks etc from around danger zones such as heat and water. you are right, a shallow terracotta saucer is advised for water, mainly as drinking source and 'tort toilet'

best of luck and welcome again

 

[johnandjade]

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/index....r-other-herbivorous-tortoise-species).107734/


best advice i can give is read and explore the threads, lots of knowledge about on here, you're in the right place

 

[Kelseystandefer]

I'm not sure that I even did the pictures right it was just him and his enclosure. And yes he does love to climb and I let him as when I can watch in my room he has a pile of flat block and he loves getting under my blanket and tumbling through it the only problem is flipping on his back when he is alone. Thank you:

 

[johnandjade]

I'm not sure that I even did the pictures right it was just him and his enclosure. And yes he does love to climb and I let him as when I can watch in my room he has a pile of flat block and he loves getting under my blanket and tumbling through it the only problem is flipping on his back when he is alone. Thank you:

i have read that letting them out enclosure can lead to hyper activety as they then know there's a bigger world out with enclosure. this might be adding to stress?

posting pictures is a great idea , it'll help someone with more experience than myself help you to make little tweks. keep on tortin'

 

[Lyn W]

Hi and welcome to the best place for up to date information in all things tort related.
Russians are escape artists especially when they have seen a bigger world (not a great idea to let him in your bed or wander room in case of weeing/pooping and eating anything they find, plus accidents).
You're right they don't swim but they do like to self soak in shallow water, in something like a terracotta plant saucer which should always be available in their enclosure.
If you are using a laptop - to post a photo - click on UPLOAD A FILE and choose Pictures from the menu, and then open the picture you want to upload. and you can either choose thumbnail or full size. A picture would be a great help so you can get the best advice on how to stop him flipping.
Read the Russian/Horsefield caresheet John mentioned, the Enclosures thread is great for ideas and the Beginners Mistakes thread (link below in my signature) is also very useful to learn from the mistakes of others.