so this is the second time ive woke up to find my lil ralphie upside down on his shell in his water dish. what the hell is he doing!? Does anyone else have this problem? Im afraid hes gona drown himself If i leave the house for a day.
suicidal torts!
- Thread starter gerrod
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This might not be your problem, because I don't know how big your tortoise is, but quite a few babies will tip over backwards when trying to climb out of a waterer that has sides that are too tall.
What are you using for a waterer? Are the sides too tall for him to comfortably and safely climb out?
What are you using for a waterer? Are the sides too tall for him to comfortably and safely climb out?
What are you using?
When I had the water dish against the wall, my tort would walk on the rim of the dish even though he was in my eyes obviously double the width of the rim (he doesn't know that!), and fall in. Can you show us photos of the enclosure to see if we spot any hazards? Even reducing the hazards, some torts do just flip. That is a reason we wouldn't recommend leaving a hatchling when you go on a trip but an adult tort is fine for a few days. Some torts don't last long on their backs, especially in water and under lights. You are very lucky you got him in time. Keeping the water just deep enough to drink but not deeper than that is a good idea, so it sounds like you must have done that (they will get too weak to hold their heads up after awhile and that is how they drown, in addition to when they are on their backs their lungs are depressed so its hard to breathe).
wow, its like I never left! Thanx all you guys and im just gona post a pic or two so we all can figure it oot
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