My torty literally flips himself onto his back 24/7

[DublinTortyMama]

Please help torty gurus, my little 5 month old hermanns flips on his back all the time. He does it off anything I put in his enclosure (many times a day) until I find him and its so stressfull as I know this is so bad for them.
I check him all the time and have a camera in his enclosure but I wondered why he would do this so often????

 

[Aloysius Taschse]

Well, it sounds like your tort is a climber. Try to put things in there that are closer to the ground and not steep at all. This is going to sound a bit crazy, but there should really be a gadget or something that can go on their shells that beeps every time they flip over.

 

[DublinTortyMama]

Well, it sounds like your tort is a climber. Try to put things in there that are closer to the ground and not steep at all. This is going to sound a bit crazy, but there should really be a gadget or something that can go on their shells that beeps every time they flip over.

The gadget is such a good idea!!! #businessidea ?

Thanks so much I will do that, as long as its normal to be a ‘climber’ and its nothing too unusual because i worry so much if I go out for the day post covid times, he could kill himself!

 

[Maro2Bear]

Greetings. You might want to post a picture of your enclosure & folks might spot something. Is he trying to get away from hot spots or cold spots or CFL lights, etc. Maybe the enclosure is just too small? Maybe waterdish, or hide isnt quite right. Post a pix!

 

[Calaveras]

If it is flipping over you need to remove what is causing that.
You may need to go to just a shallow water dish and substrate until you figure it out.

 

[Sarah2020]

I had that and removed all climbing apperatus. Really frustrating and snnoying.
Add in more low rocks ( similar to what could go in a fish aquarium) and put a small stone near food and water bowls to aid access and exit. Look at the substrate they like to cave do that give them something to burn energy on and hide away. Read the care sheets to check diet, light, humidity and substatrate is optimum.

 

[DublinTortyMama]

Thanks guys for your help - here is a picture of the enclosure. I now only have the cave, the water dish and the food bowl in there ... as he was flipping off everything else.

I will buy a few small stones to dot around the place too. The heat/humidity is good and everything else exactly as recommended so I’m honestly not sure what I can do!!!

 

[DublinTortyMama]

Also he flips off every area of the enclosure so dont think its a heat thing or one particular object ?

 

[Roxanneizded]

Please help torty gurus, my little 5 month old hermanns flips on his back all the time. He does it off anything I put in his enclosure (many times a day) until I find him and its so stressfull as I know this is so bad for them.
I check him all the time and have a camera in his enclosure but I wondered why he would do this so often????

Hi. After fixing the environment, put him in sunshine. If he flips over, he needs more uvb and some uva light. Then, fix your lighting. Good luck.

 

[method89]

You say the heat and humidity are good, but what are they? give these caresheets a read and see how your setup compares.

Sticky: HERMANN'S TORTOISE CARE SHEET *UPDATED

Josh and I corresponded last week about making an updated version of the Hermann's tortoise care sheet since the old one we have posted here is a bit outdated and a little too brief in my opinion. So, here is the new one equipped with photos. Look out for the April 2015 issue of Reptiles...

www.tortoiseforum.org

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

www.tortoiseforum.org

 

[Sarah2020]

Once your tortoise puts on weight and grows you will find this reduces but removing hazards is a good thing to do. The food looks dry try wetting fresh green leaves also water should be similar to the food bowl so he can climb in to drink and soak. Sand/soil substrate is also not recommended as they can ingest it. Recommend coir or orchid bark and then Spray with water for humidity deep enough it can burrow in. Good luck.

 

[SJTort]

Mine used to do the same thing. I attached some thick 8.5x11 sheets of plastic to the bottom of the walls so that there isn’t anything for him to grip onto. Also, I made his substrate much deeper so that he has something to grip and get himself flipped back over. Can your tort see out of his enclosure? Once I covered the plexiglass areas, he stopped trying as much.

 

[Sarah2020]

If they can see out that can stress. I have glass front but have applied 4 lines of tape to lower part to block view from substratate. Some put paper over the glass but I like to see in, blanking lower part helped. All good ideas. Let us know how you get on?

 

[DublinTortyMama]

Hi everyone just to update here i covered the bottom of the glass as suggested as it totally worked. He has flipped over only a few times in the last 6 months!!! Great work thanks guys
Xxxx