Help: tortoise on her back for 20 min

[Geng]

So I woke up this morning and looked at my enclosure. My almost 2 year old female russian is just roaming around. I looked back 15-20 min later and I see her flipped over on her back in the hot zone 90F. SHe was really scared, seeing she has pooped herself. I put her back and gave her a warm soak for her to relax.

Will she have any health issues because of this? I know that being a period on your back aint good for the tortoise, but for how long? What worries me the most is that she was under her MVB lamp. The lamp covers an area to heat up to 85-90F. Hopefully there wont be any problems...

 

[Kasia]

Hi
Stay calm. If she's eating fine and roaming in her enclosure normally then probably she'll be ok. Watch her closely for sings of heat stroke (weird walk, foaming from mouth, lethargy ...) for couple next hours. If You notice any contact Your Vet ASAP. Remove any obstacles that she could climb from the basking area. Pooping herself could be a sing of both being scared or overheated. Soaking is the best You can do. Hope every thing goes well and she'll be well. Good luck

 

[Geng]

Hi
Stay calm. If she's eating fine and roaming in her enclosure normally then probably she'll be ok. Watch her closely for sings of heat stroke (weird walk, foaming from mouth, lethargy ...) for couple next hours. If You notice any contact Your Vet ASAP. Remove any obstacles that she could climb from the basking area. Pooping herself could be a sing of both being scared or overheated. Soaking is the best You can do. Hope every thing goes well and she'll be well. Good luck

Thanks for your reply!

Nothing unusual detected. During her soak she would try to climb out after 10 min but today she was very calm and a bit slow in movement. After the soak I gave her a dandelion flower (her fav snack) and she munched it like she usually does. Then I put her back and she walked around a bit. I put down her food and she walked right to her food plate to enjoy another flower. After her lunch she went napping under the basking lamp. I was away for a while, and when I came back she went to bed.

Hopefully thats a normal activity what my tort shows.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

It is crucial that you NOT have a heat lamp in any location that your tortoise has ever flipped over. A tortoise can survive on its back for quite some time if it doesn't get overheated. But a tortoise on its back under a heat lamp can and will be permanently injured and quickly killed.
Move the light is my suggestion and remove the item that the tortoise flipped over on or climbed on top of and fell off.

 

[Geng]

It is crucial that you NOT have a heat lamp in any location that your tortoise has ever flipped over. A tortoise can survive on its back for quite some time if it doesn't get overheated. But a tortoise on its back under a heat lamp can and will be permanently injured and quickly killed.
Move the light is my suggestion and remove the item that the tortoise flipped over on or climbed on top of and fell off.

How hot must it get to get overheated? The place where she was on her back was in the warm spot (between 80-85F), just outside the hot spot under the MVB (90F). She looked tired and was calm during her soak (normally she tries to climb out). But after her soak she was like normal again: roaming around a bit, reacting to food and go napping under her basking lamp after lunch.

Can I conclude that she is (hopefully) fine?

 

[dmmj]

when a tortoise overheats is not the spot but the tortoise that you have to worry about getting h
hot. A tortoise can overheat very quickly in a cool spot if it cannot cool itself down when she starts to warm up figure out why she flipped over and fix the problem as soon as possible please. Death from over heating is very painful not
tortoise should have to go through that.

 

[Yvonne G]

If your tortoise were overheating, it would be foaming at the mouth. If you caught your tortoise in time and turned him back over, and he looked fine, he is fine.

 

[Geng]

when a tortoise overheats is not the spot but the tortoise that you have to worry about getting h
hot. A tortoise can overheat very quickly in a cool spot if it cannot cool itself down when she starts to warm up figure out why she flipped over and fix the problem as soon as possible please. Death from over heating is very painful not
tortoise should have to go through that.

Will do about it, thanks!

 

[Tom]

This is not a big deal. Your tortoise will be fine and it won't overheat in a spot that is only 90 degrees.

 

[Tom]

This is not a big deal. Your tortoise will be fine and it won't overheat in a spot that is only 90 degrees.

On hot summer days ambient all over my indoor Russian enclosures climbs into the low to mid 90s and stays there for hours. Over 100 would definitely be a problem.

 

[Geng]

On hot summer days ambient all over my indoor Russian enclosures climbs into the low to mid 90s and stays there for hours. Over 100 would definitely be a problem.

Thanks! That really calms me down!