One year old red foot flipping and getting stuck.

Lira

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I have browsed lots of threads on here re flipping but they were all closed for replies.
Anyone have advice re flipping? Lira just started to flip herself this week because she has suddenly realised the world is bigger than her enclosure and tries to climb up to see out (the walls are twice her body hight). The only thing to climb on is her shelter where she likes to sleep and she is even trying to climb up onto that. She loves being high and looking out off things, don't we all!
I am worried for when I am out or asleep because she does not try to right herself. Is that because she is still too young, legs too short? She is about 1 year and one month old.
Although I know people will be judgemental on this, I did just try flipping her over to see if she can save herself, I figured a minute of stress in a safe environment to confirm if she was able to flip back was better than the endless worry I am feeling right now? But she didn't even try, lay like a statue. :(
Yesterday when she flipped herself over I found her after anywhere up to 5 or 10 minutes and she was flailing her legs but just in the air, in panic, not trying to get leverage on anything to turn back over.
How long can she survive if she flips when I am not home? I have heard different stories so am feeling a bit frantic.
 

Maro2Bear

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Greetings Lira, in addition to his hide, what else is in the enclosure? You might wanr to post a pix of the enclosure for folks to see and chime in woth their thoughts. Have you determined the cause of the flipping? Is he crawling up on something and rolling off? Water dish, rocks, plants, etc?
 

Lira

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Greetings Lira, in addition to his hide, what else is in the enclosure? You might wanr to post a pix of the enclosure for folks to see and chime in woth their thoughts. Have you determined the cause of the flipping? Is he crawling up on something and rolling off? Water dish, rocks, plants, etc?
Hi, she is just climbing up the walls. Well she is standing up on her back legs like a human to try and see what is outside. Actually she flipped yesterday because I let her climb on a rock that I put in there for monitored play because she loves to climb on rocks, but I never leave them in there if I am not around. But seeing her stuck got me worried as she is constantly standing up and then slipping back down off the walls now, it is only a matter of time before more flips. There is nothing else except her shelter that she is also trying to climb onto the roof of. The height of that is her size as seen here: http://instagram.com/p/w09F-5th9e/
The standing up, this time in the water dish so I have moved that away from the walls: http://instagram.com/p/w08x5fth8-/
 

Maro2Bear

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Hard to tell, but I'm wondering if the enclosure is large enough? Wonder if providing him with more space to explore will help.
 

Lira

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Hard to tell, but I'm wondering if the enclosure is large enough? Wonder if providing him with more space to explore will help.
Yeah, the enclosure is big enough. She does want to explore as you say, but outside her enclosure. I let her walk around the house today, we have a big living area to tire her out so she'll have a nap, lol.
 

ZEROPILOT

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Many times your red foot will flip and then correct itself before you are even aware of it. Other times it will flip and die...Especially if it flips in the heat. As in near a lamp. You'll have to eliminate the flipping sources one at a time. Nothing easily climbable, etc. Tall and straight walls. Nothing to get a foothold on. Twice, my 4.5" red foot scaled a nine inch wooden wall ..straight up and over to go visit his older cousin next door. I'm still unsure exactly how he did it. My adult climbed to the top of his dog house and then hopped over a 3' wall and was wondering around the back yard. You might not end up with an enclosure that looks like you wanted it to look like, but you must eliminate to climbing places. It is in his nature to climb. Any place you have seen him upside down, make sure that there is no heat lamp near there until you have fixed the flipping cause. Years ago I lost a very tiny baby under a heat lamp this same way. Horrible!
 
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Lira

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Location (City and/or State)
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Many times your red foot will flip and then correct itself before you are even aware of it. Other times it will flip and die...Especially if it flips in the heat. As in near a lamp. You'll have to eliminate the flipping sources one at a time. Nothing easily climbable, etc. Tall and straight walls. Nothing to get a foothold on. Twice, my 4.5" red foot scaled a nine inch wooden wall ..straight up and over to go visit his older cousin next door. I'm still unsure exactly how he did it. My adult climbed to the top of his dog house and then hopped over a 3' wall and was wondering around the back yard. You might not end up with an enclosure that looks like you wanted it to look like, but you must eliminate to climbing places. It is in his nature to climb. Any place you have seen him upside down, make sure that there is no heat lamp near there until you have fixed the flipping cause. Years ago I lost a very tiny baby under a heat lamp this same way. Horrible!
Wow, I never knew they were such climbers! Sad about your baby! :( Lira does not have a heat lamp because it is very hot here. I am trying to eliminate things, but she just goes up the wall. Do you know how long they can survive upside down if not under a lamp or in the water bowl? Today I made an extra trip home to check on her and then left her at a friend's place to be babysat while I went Christmas shopping, just in case.
 

ZEROPILOT

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Generally, when they flip, they get scared and poo all over themselves. That gets them dehydrated. If the heat wasn't very bad, I think they would recover even after a few hours. Mine, however, died in the span of 45 minutes.
 

Lira

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Generally, when they flip, they get scared and poo all over themselves. That gets them dehydrated. If the heat wasn't very bad, I think they would recover even after a few hours. Mine, however, died in the span of 45 minutes.
:( I am so glad Lira never flipped when she was a little baby! She gets scared and goes straight to sleep as soon as she is turned back. So far so good today, so fingers crossed.
 
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