PLEASE SOMEONE HELP (tortoise upside down)

GingerLove

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Also I think humidity is not the problem in this scenario, so we probably don't need to discuss it. At least everyone is trying to help.:<3::tort:
 

Tidgy's Dad

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I doubt it's an infection.
I should think it's a matter of space and/ or the reflections in the glass.
Either trying to escape or attempting to chase away 'the intruder' - the tortoise reflected in the glass.
 

Bee62

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Hi DrSpurred, please don`t think I am crazy but I would try to give your tort baby something to climb. From my own 4 young sullies I know that they like to climb ( mayby give him an artificial burrow, covered with soil so it make a slight soil buckle.) They like so sit with the head higher than the butt ( please view the picture )
It seems to me that your baby tortoise is bored and scared from his enclosure. He will need some plants and hides. In nature the soil is not flat and without any plants. Babies search for hides against predators. It is a natural instinct. Give your baby things to hide and I think it will not flip over again.


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Bambam1989

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Hi DrSpurred, please don`t think I am crazy but I would try to give your tort baby something to climb. From my own 4 young sullies I know that they like to climb ( mayby give him an artificial burrow, covered with soil so it make a slight soil buckle.) They like so sit with the head higher than the butt ( please view the picture )
It seems to me that your baby tortoise is bored and scared from his enclosure. He will need some plants and hides. In nature the soil is not flat and without any plants. Babies search for hides against predators. It is a natural instinct. Give your baby things to hide and I think it will not flip over again.


View attachment 223081
This makes alot of sense. My own baby sulcata's favorite place to walk is up and down his ramp and he likes to nap/bask with his front half propped on a rock.
 

Bee62

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This makes alot of sense. My own baby sulcata's favorite place to walk is up and down his ramp and he likes to nap/bask with his front half propped on a rock.
Thank you.:)
It is just my experience with my own young sullies. They never flipped over although they have some things to climb in their enclosure. They learn to climb and to be careful by doing this.
Think of children ( and they are tort-children ) : Learning by doing.:)
 

Big Charlie

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I remember this happening to another tortoise and the solution was to block the corners.
 

Tom

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Every once in a while a baby comes a long that just wants to flip itself. Most of them stop this within a couple of weeks.

If yours didn't used to do this, and this is something new, they we might need to think about what is causing the behavior.

What are your four temps? Warm side, cool side, basking area and overnight low?

Are you using a UV lamp? What type?

The pics show an empty, barren enclosures. Does he have a hide? Any plants or decorations? Any cover?
 

DrSpurred

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I appreciate all the help guys! So Tom, my cool side is lower 70's, my warm side is mid mid 80's and the basking side is 100-105F. My UV lamp is the ReptiSun 10.0 bar light, NO MORE COIL LIGHTS! My enclosure was barren because I had to go to work and I removed everything he could possibly tip over with. He has a hide, a humid hide and plants in there and @Bee62 it's funny you should say that because when I readded all of his enclosure before I put on his Night time lamp (Which keeps it low 80's at night @Tom), I moved soil around and added a small mound underneath his basking light and he sat on it with his toosh down and his head at higher elevation, but he seems to be still climbing the edges and trying to escape. I put black paper along the Terrarium so he can't see out and can't see his reflection but yet he is still climbing so I'm guessing I'm saying is I need more help.
@Tom
 

Tom

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Cool side should be 80 and basking temp is just a little bit higher than I like, but neither of these are causing the flipping.

I don't know what else you can do but put rocks or flower pots in the corners to keep him out of the corners. And then just wait this out.
 

DrSpurred

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My tank is very large and he is very tiny that is why I like to keep the cool side a bit cooler. Also the basking is a bit lower I believe because my temperature gauge is suspended 2-3 1/2 inches above ground level but none the less his enclosure i believe is great I'm just so confused as to what the heck he is doing, he seems like he is on a mission when he climbs. He is still climbing even when it's dark in his tank. I hope this isn't a neurological issue... @Tom
 

teresaf

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The problem could be that the temperatures are too cold or too hot. We've seen that here before. They're trying to escape the heat if it's too hot or trying to go somewhere warmer if it's too cold. If your cool temperature is low 70s and you're using the dial thermometers then you don't really know what the temperature on that end is. Those things are notoriously inaccurate. I've attached a picture of a digital thermometer I use where you just drop the probe into the enclosure and the mechanism stays outside of the enclosure. The reason why the temperature is so critical on the cooler side of the enclosure is because anything under 80 and your tortoise can get sick in a high humidity environment. He needs 80 not low 70s. And the humidity in his enclosure needs to be 70s or 80s not 30s.

At night you should use a ceramic heat emitter so that the lights are out completely period a ceramic heat emitter is used just like a light bulb except it does not put out light.
 

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teresaf

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Also look at @Bee62 tortoises... See how smooth they look? That is from high humidity and high heat in an enclosed enclosure or what we call closed Chambers. Tortoises that are raised in dry conditions at this early of an age tend to not thrive... The ones that do survive this treatment end up grossly pyramided like my tortoise(attachment) that I rescued in Ohio. A very low humidity area where the previous owner tried to convince me that baths and too much humidity were bad for him....so sad. @Tom raises hundreds of baby tortoises each year. He's used his own tortoises to disprove the old myths on raising babies. High humidity in high heat is the way to go.
 

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Bee62

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Also look at @Bee62 tortoises... See how smooth they look? That is from high humidity and high heat in an enclosed enclosure or what we call closed Chambers. Tortoises that are raised in dry conditions at this early of an age tend to not thrive... The ones that do survive this treatment end up grossly pyramided like my tortoise(attachment) that I rescued in Ohio. A very low humidity area where the previous owner tried to convince me that baths and too much humidity were bad for him....so sad. @Tom raises hundreds of baby tortoises each year. He's used his own tortoises to disprove the old myths on raising babies. High humidity in high heat is the way to go.
Thank you ! :)
I am so glad that I have found this forum and the right informations to raise my sullies right ( humid and warm ). In the enclosure of my torts it is 80 F day and night and basking spot 100 - 105 F. Humidity is 75 - 85 % and I often spray my torts with warm water of a flowersprayer.
 

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