RIP terra

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WinterDB

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Terra was always extremely curious. He always tried to climb on things, and get into tiny crevices. Well.. I checked on him, took a shower, and when I came back he was flipped over under his heat lamp..
It was only about 20 minutes.. But it was enough. I walked in my room and saw he had struggled so much to flip himself back over, he had dug his legs into the coir.. Resulting in his face being smothered in dirt.... I flipped him over and he ran off extremely fast, instantly.. But it was short lived, he stopped in his mini marathon.. Sucked his little head in. And I heard him make a weird sucky sound. His tail wagged for about two minutes.. But i think he was gone. Just to make sure he wasn't in shock, I put him in shallow warm water, and wiped all the dirt off his face.. But he didn't respond to me touching his face at all, his eyes were open, and his limbs were stiff..
My parents and I sat there for about ten minutes, when his little head moved. We were so excited, but my mom (not knowing anything about tortoises) picked him up to see his plastron, and it was completely concave. Even If he was alive, I don't think he would have survived that much damage.. I don't know what happened. He could have died from suffocation in the dirt, shock, the heat, a number of things. But he was as happy as can be when he was alive, and seemed to take a liking to me (the giant food bearer). I only had him for about a month, but I sure did love and care for the little guy...

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animalfreak

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Oh no I'm so sorry! I had a baby bearded dragon die on me within 9 days, and since it was my first pet I was so devistated. And to fill the joke I got new ones!
 

lovelyrosepetal

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I am so sorry for your loss. I was, actually, just thinking about Terra today. I was wondering if Terra was short for Torterra? I was going to ask you. I feel so horrible for your loss. I think we will all miss the antics of little Terra. I know you did your best and that Terra was happy with you. I hope you feel at peace soon.
 

Biff Malibu

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:( sorry to hear... And anxiety inducing for myself.

I'm curious as to how flipping over can result in death. I read that it can happen, and when my sully did it the first time I freaked out.

Ive found him flipped... Probably about a dozen + times since I've had him. After the first time, i decided he can't be trusted, so I keep an eye on him all the time outdoors and indoors.

Sullys are hard wired to climb and its real hard to "flip proof" an enclosure.
 

SDDTMama

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I'm so sorry to hear about your loss! I can only imagine how devastating that must be. :(

R.I.P. wee, little Terra.
 

jtrux

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That's terrible, i'm so sorry. A buddy of mine has a big Sulcata that weighs about 40lbs and he says it's flopped over and can't right itself. My baby Leopard flopped over yesterday while I was cleaning his cage (he tried climbing my pant leg) and almost instantly he was back over and on his way. Not sure why some can flip back over and some can't.
 

Baoh

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Sorry this happened to you. It is just a bad draw on a scale of probability. I once had a leopard who flipped in such a perfect way in his outdoor enclosure that he could not right himself and the midday sunlight intensity seemed to be the factor that finished him off. Most of the time, the twisting movement of one of more limbs, the use of the head and neck for vaulting and pivoting, and the flail/shake are enough in isolation or combination to get them righted. Every so often, one just seems to be in a perfect storm for lack of purchase and then doom sets in. It gets worse as they get more exhausted by successive failed attempts, too. Sometimes they are perfectly inverted on soft and loose substrate with too little give. Sometimes they are partially pinned in a bad position by a fall/flip against or between environmental objects/features. Mine managed to flip itself on the top center of a tussock that gets no shade in the middle of the day. With the way the blades both support in tandem and give individually, it was likely that it could find nothing to grip on or push against. The high dome of the carapace, which is something I have normally observed to assist leopards in self-righting (by encouraging some listing to the side when flipping occurs via a fulcrum of lesser contact surface area), worked against it in this scenario due to putting greater distance between the limbs and any possible points of purchase. A perfect storm.

Your animal may have encountered its own version of such a scenario. In no way a pleasant end, but you could not be omniscient or omnipresent, so do not beat yourself up about it. These things simply happen from time to time.

Sorry for your loss.
 

AZtortMom

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I am so sorry for your loss of your baby :(
 

TortoiseBoy1999

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Biff Malibu said:
I'm curious as to how flipping over can result in death.

I heard some where it's because their organs crush their lungs when they are upside down...

So sorry for your loss.... :'(
 
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