Ideas to keep my hatchling from flipping over

[ChiKat]

I swear the little guy is giving me gray hair. I posted several weeks ago that I came home from work and found him stuck on his side. He appeared to have been like that for a while
My mom checks on him while I'm at work and found him stuck on his side the other day.

Well today we were watching him (what can I say, I have no life) and he was trying to climb up the side of his enclosure He flipped over on his back. He just lay there on his back for a little bit but I wanted him to flip over by himself. He eventually tried and was stretching his neck out (I have never seen it move around like that, it was crazy!) I gave him a good minute (it felt like a lifetime) but he just couldn't do it! I nudged him a little and then he was able to flip over.
How can I prevent this from happening?! I'm going to be a nervous wreck when I leave him every day!

I use coco coir as the substrate with a small amount of sand mixed in- do you think that is too soft for him? He seemed to just be digging into the substrate when he was trying to flip back over.

I have plants and things in every corner to prevent him from flipping over in the corners. I built up a hill next to his log to "hatchling-proof" that for him too. What more can I do?! It's when he tries to climb up the sides of his enclosure that he flips over.

I've heard of people placing rocks strategically throughout the enclosure so that they have something to use to try to right themselves.
Please let me know if you have any suggestions!

 

[terracolson]

I understand your worry.. I would worry as well...

You know this might not be a good idea... but its a thought.. what if you could supervised him and teach him to filp himself back over?

you place him on his back and give him a few seconds?

I heard leopard tortoises can hold there breath for 10 mins?

 

[tortoisenerd]

Can you take pictures of the sides of the enclosure that he has been stuck on? Then we may be able to provide specific ideas/fixes.

I have heard pros and cons on the flipping "training" with torts. My husband did this with our little guy but I didn't want to be a part of it as it pains me to see him flipped over. Supposedly it went very well over the course of maybe 6 months and now my husband is much more confident of his abilities. We have only found him flipped once (before the training) and we were able to move the cage furnishings to make it safer.

We usually do not hear of a tort flipping while climbing a wall, but more so while climbing furnishings. They usually know their limits when climbing straight surfaces. So, this make me feel this will get better over time but you also need to figure out what to do in the meantime. Being flipped on their side is better than the back though. How long have you had the hatchling and how old is he? Best wishes.

 

[Stephanie Logan]

I was the one who posted the photo from Shelledwarriors because I was going through the same anxiety about Taco at the time. I put softball-sized rocks or piles of rocks at 18" intervals all around her outdoor pen. There are also slopes within that would help her to build enough momentum to flip back over.

I personally watched Taco try to climb straight up a tree stump before tumbling over backward, but since she was on an incline as well as wedged next to a cement block, so she recovered a lot quicker on that one than on the first one I'd witnessed. We've had several threads on this subject just since I've been here, and it seems that many keepers believe that some torts are good at righting themselves, and some just draw themselves in and wait for fate to descend...that's the depressing point of view. Others pointed out that in the wild there don't seem to be a lot of overturned dead torts, so most torts must be adept at righting themselves as a matter of habit.

I would put the "aid obstacles" around Nelson's enclosure, and painful though it would be, I would try to teach him to right himself by levering against the plants/rocks/wall.

Taco squirmed like crazy, hyperextending her neck till her chin was on the ground, pushing herself along toward a nearby rock (this was the first time I saw it and like you, I wanted to see if she could do it, but it was AGONY for that 45 or 60 seconds--it seemed like forever!), and I did feel SO much better after I knew she could do it if she had to. I still worry like crazy whenever she's out in the yard and check on her compulsively every 10 minutes or so to make sure she's not in trouble.

Good luck! We can't have young Nelson's health at risk!

 

[ChiKat]

Kate I got him last August and he is now 9-months old.
My mom found him flipped on his back once when I first got him and it looked like he had fallen off his log. I now have substrate built up next to the log to prevent this from happening. We've found him stuck on his side twice in the past month.

The corner with the fake tortoise is where I found him stuck on his side once, which is why the tortoise is now there.

To the right of the log (bottom right of picture) is where he was trying to climb up the side of his enclosure and flipped over

I have several rocks outside of my house that my family has collected but unfortunately they're covered in ice and snow! I'll have to dig some up and put them in the little guy's enclosure.

 

[TortieGal]

I had to move things away from the wall to keep Herman from flipping he would try climbing them and fall and sometime's flip. I had a half log and a flower pot that he would try climbing. I moved them just far enough away from the wall where he can walk around them and I don't have any problem now. Hope that helps.

 

[terracolson]

Hey what about plastic golf balls half buried?

 

[jlyoncc1]

Just an idea, but maybe he can get his little nails in the plastic and it's giving him enough grip to get up higher than normal causing him to flip? Don't know but just an idea.

 

[ChiKat]

Hmm that's a good thought but I don't think that's the case. Even in his old bin container he would fall over from trying to climb up the sides He's just a restless little dude it seems!