Just joined! Tortoise keeps flipping into his back, what else can I do?

CharlotteAlicia

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Hi all.
I am new to joining this site but have often come in to browse the wealth of information it holds.
I have a Tunisian spur thighed tortoise (so my certificate says.. though it doesn't say what sex, my vet thinks it's female but we've always thought he was male!). We have had him for 4/5 years, he will be 18 in August. He has gone through a couple of outdoor enclosures due to expansion as he was beginning to flip himself. We have also blacked out the sides so he cannot see past his enclosure and attempt further escapes (as was suggested on another post).
He stopped flipping over for a while and begun again this year.. We have found suggestions to put things in the enclosure as he may be bored, so we have a tunnel and low ramps (which he loves).. his flipping stopped for a while but now he has begun doing it again. We work all day and dread coming home to what we might find. We have blocked the corners as he tended to flip near them but at times we have found him no where near anything that might have caused him to flip.

Is his enclosure too small ?
Help needed ! Thank you.
Sorry for the essay !
 
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Yvonne G

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Hi, and welcome! In my opinion, an 18 year old tortoise needs to live outside. Let's send a shout-out to one of our more experienced members who raised a greek tortoise in the UK for over 40 years - @JoesMum
 

CharlotteAlicia

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Hi, and welcome! In my opinion, an 18 year old tortoise needs to live outside. Let's send a shout-out to one of our more experienced members who raised a greek tortoise in the UK for over 40 years - @JoesMum
Hi ! Yes he is outside. He's been an outside tortoise for most of his life I believe. I am having difficulties uploading a picture of his enclosure.. was too impatient when it was uploading and pressed post hoping it would post when finished but it didn't ! It's taking a ridiculously long time.. :(
 

Yvonne G

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Well, that looks plenty big enough for a tortoise, with sun and shade, hiding place, etc. It's a good place for a tortoise to live. Maybe it's a breeding thing. He may be trying to escape to go find a female?????

Try to figure out what he's using to flip himself over and eliminate those items. Not much you can do about it if he's climbing the walls, though. Placing a horizontal board the length of the wall might inhibit climbing.

Post a picture of his underside including the tail and we'll tell you if he's a boy or a girl.
 

Yvonne G

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Hi ! Yes he is outside. He's been an outside tortoise for most of his life I believe. I am having difficulties uploading a picture of his enclosure.. was too impatient when it was uploading and pressed post hoping it would post when finished but it didn't ! It's taking a ridiculously long time.. :(

Sorry about the misunderstanding (on my part). I tend to skim instead of really reading.
 

CharlotteAlicia

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No worries, thank you for your responses! Reassuring about the space. When we expanded it last we made it extra big to see him through a while. Not sure how much bigger he'd get.. if he even does? Or she!
I have a trail camera I am planning to set up tomorrow and see if we can catch it happen.
He has got a proper attitude. Charges around the run like a mad man! His previous owner wanted to get rid of him as he was aggressive towards the other tortoise she had. We love his character though ! Or her !
Hope the photo helps? Or are the hands in the way ?

Thank you !! :):tort:20170610_164135.jpg
 

Yvonne G

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Wow! That looks like a girl tail to me (but I don't have Greeks, so am not used to seeing male greek tails. The Russian males I have show really large, fat tails). Maybe she's trying to escape to find a good nesting spot. ?????
 

Rachael403

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Do you think adding some tort safe plants would help with the climbing issue? It may deter him/her from climbing in particular spots...
 

Markw84

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I'm with Yvonne. Looks female and sounds like activity to find a nesting spot. Females become very active and relentless in trying to get to new areas to find in which they can nest. From the aggression you mention from the previous owners, probably a lot of breeding activity.
 

CharlotteAlicia

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Oooh a girl indeed! Looks like we're going to have to accept that verdict! Going to take some getting used to :oops:
And she (!) Is always going in and out of her house when she's going crazy.. so that might explain that too. We have another house we can put in there.. Would that be helpful ?
 

CharlotteAlicia

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Do you think adding some tort safe plants would help with the climbing issue? It may deter him/her from climbing in particular spots...
We often move the run around the garden when the grass starts to die or when the sun changes where it will be in the day .. if that makes sense ! So it isn't there permanently. Thank you for the suggestion though :tort:
 

Rachael403

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I am a box/ aquatic turtle person. I am still learning on torts so maybe someday I will feel like I have the knowledge to get one, so it was a shot in the dark anyway. :)
 

Yvonne G

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Oooh a girl indeed! Looks like we're going to have to accept that verdict! Going to take some getting used to :oops:
And she (!) Is always going in and out of her house when she's going crazy.. so that might explain that too. We have another house we can put in there.. Would that be helpful ?

A good nesting spot is in the sun with loose dirt that's easy to dig, but holds its shape and doesn't cave in. Other species that I'm familiar with like to dig nests near or in front of the shelter/cave/burrow, but I don't know about the Greeks.
 

JoesMum

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Hi

I am more awake now! I agree that you definitely have a female.

I am not surprised about the behaviour with the previous owner. Torts are loners. They don't need, want or particularly like company. Another tort is simply competition for food and territory. Both genders will aggressively defend their patch to persuade a rival to leave.

The enclosure is a good size, but I note that you move it. To me that suggests this tort gets time outside the enclosure and knows there's a wider world out there to explore and defend. In the wild they'll roam huge distances, so this behaviour doesn't surprise me either.

Can you give your tort a permanent patch? Ideally it will include weedy lawn for grazing, shrubs/bushes with bare Earth underneath for shade and to hide under, somewhere that gets sun for basking. The sunny patch will change as the day goes on and with the seasons... my tort Joe was like a sundial; you could follow him round the garden :)

I can't see clearly, but it looks like your tort's enclosure only has a grass surface. I think she'd enjoy more variety of surfaces - bare earth, slate chips. I linked my thread about keeping Joe outside; it may give you some ideas.

More obstructions to break up sight lines will also help you tort to feel they have a bigger home. Again fencing off a permanent part of the garden and including shrubs and flower bed will help.

We have had some particularly warm weather recently in the UK - perfect for torts to be very active - so that desire to roam and conquer will be very high.

Please do ask any questions you have. We got Joe in 1970 so are pretty familiar with keeping a Greek in the UK :) I'll keep an eye on this thread
 

CharlotteAlicia

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Thank you so much for your response. We will no longer move it around and won't put her outside of the run. Unfortunately we can't give her free roam of the whole garden as we have gaps in the fences for hedgehogs to roam and lots of places where she can get stuck or lost. :(

I am looking to get some of the slate you mentioned in your linked post.
Our earth is highly clay based.. is this okay, or would you recommend something else?
Also, what would you recommend to break up the sight lines of the enclosure ? Other than a bush until we can get that going !
Sorry for lots of questions!

How old is your Joe?

Oh ! And what other food would you suggest ? She's quite fussy !
Think that's the last question I have for now ! Haha :rolleyes:
 
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