My baby tortoise flipped over... will he be okay?

[RainbowGoldfish]

So, I'm a new tortoise owner (great way to start off). I have owned three turtles and a month ago I got a baby Greek tortoise. He's about 4 months old, and his name is Atlas. I got him a terracotta plate dish, which was big for his size, but I thought it'd be easier for him to eat out of. I got it a few days after I got him, and I've never had an issue with it until about an hour ago. I always feed him first thing in the morning before I go to school, but in the evening when I went upstairs to check on Atlas and my turtles, I saw him flipped over on his back on top of the plate. I freaked out, flipped him back over and he obviously was very stressed, and just wanted to hide in his hideout. I don't know how long he was like that. He generally eats in the morning so it could have been several hours. Physically, he looked fine, but I know tortoise's lungs are in the top of their shells, so it was hard for him to breath. I took the plate out, and I put him in his den so he could calm down. I just want to know if he'll be okay. I had the dish for about a month, and it's not that deep, and he's never had a problem with it before. Should I get a new plate, and more importantly, will my tortoise be okay? I honestly don't know the health effects of a tortoise after they get flipped over for hours. He lives inside, in his own enclosure, if that gives more context. Thank you so much, any advice would be excellent.

 

[Yvonne G]

Babies can live a lot longer when on their back than larger tortoises can, and he wasn't outside in the sun, or under the hot light, so he should be ok. I use either a rough piece of broken cement, or a floor tile to feed off of, and a clay plant saucer for water. The saucer is sunk down into the substrate so the baby doesn't have to climb over the lip to get inside or to drink.

 

[Ray--Opo]

Welcome, I purchased a webcam so I could check on Opo from my phone. It was suggested to me the first time I left Opo alone for 3 days. It really gave me a peace of mind.

 

[Maro2Bear]

Like Yvonne said, make sure you sink the terracotta plate down into the substrate so it is level or even deeper. This way, your tort is walking down into the dish and not climbing up and over the edge to eat or drink.

Best of luck!

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Generally if the tortoise acts o.k. after it's been placed right side up, no harm has been done.
Sometimes they will be foaming at the mouth or the eyes will be watering. Those are signs of overheating.
The tortoise should be placed in a cooler area. Maybe in a shallow plate of room temperature, cooler water.
Usually if the tortoise is still alive when found upside down, it can be saved.
Most new enclosures need to be tweaked to get rid of tipping hazards.

 

[William Lee Kohler]

Be aware that any web cam can spy on YOU! Apparently some("smart"?)TVs can as well by anyone that can hack into your phone or computer.

 

[Blackdog1714]

Thinking you are secure on the Innerweb is bad thing. Nothing is unhackable it mostly depends on if you are worth hacking! The average two bit Joe will never have that problem, just the garden variety Tax Scams

 

[MoreCowbellAz]

It's only happened a couple times to me, but I always have a heart attach when I see my little guy on his back. I have a baby DT, about 2" in size, and like many I have been using a 4" terra cotta saucer for his food, sunken into the substrate, etc. It still seemed a little awkward for him, not so much because of a tipping hazard bit because it seemed the sides still created a little bit of an awkward angle for him when trying to get leaves or grass that was laying flat on the bottom. He's very small. The past week or so I've been experimenting with flipping his dish over, still sinking it into the substrate and leaving it only slightly higher than ground level, and not having sides in the way makes it very easy to get to. Same idea as a flat piece of tile or stone I guess, but I didn't have anything handy to experiment with. He does knock more food out of his dish but did some of that anyway, it's not that much more and anyway I've never really seen him eating much right off the the ground in the first place, plus the substrate is coco so I know he's not able to eat a bunch a dirt and sand regardless.

That may help your little guy.