Tortoise on back

[CountingMareep713]

I woke up this morning to my RT scratching the walls of his enclosure, that's usually normal though, he often gets up early and scratches the walls. I went over to check on him and I saw that he was upside down and not moving I thought the worst because I've seen videos of tortoises trying to right themselves. But it seemed like he wasn't even trying. Is something wrong with him? Should I be worried to leave him alone?

 

[wellington]

My leopards don't seem to try and help themselves either.
You should either put more flat rocks or something that he could use to get leverage to right himself or take out anything that he could climb or flip from.
Btw, once they do try and right themselves for a while and don't succeed, they will just lay there. He may have tried for some time and then gave up.
Give him a soak when you find him like that. They can dehydrate, because they usually pee a lot in that situation

 

[Eduardo Hernandez]

I agree with wellington.

Why does he scratch the sides? How big is his enclosure? That way you can fix the issue.

 

[CountingMareep713]

The sides are really tall. 15" to be exact. I think the scratching I heard was him trying to right himself because he was near the side. This morning I again woke up to him scratching. I got worried so I checked and he was upside down in the same spot. He's been trying to get on top of this log hide and is falling backwards. I hurried it more into the substrate so it's not so tall. If he wants yo get in the log he can just burrow, I'm not sacrificing his safety for the convenience of a hiding place. Thanks for the info, he's new to me still and o have a lot to learn.

 

[Eduardo Hernandez]

I meant how much space he has to walk around. Torts tend to scratch the side of the walls when they’re in a too small enclosure.

 

[CountingMareep713]

I meant how much space he has to walk around. Torts tend to scratch the side of the walls when they’re in a too small enclosure.

Oh, it's 5'×3'. There's a small den area on the side opposite of the basking spot. It's a wooden box that's built into the side.

 

[TechnoCheese]

Your enclosure is too small. Your tortoise needs a minimum enclosure size of 8x4 feet, and that’s why he scratches. You also need to put sides on the ramp and second layer, because those are huge flipping hazards.

 

[chemprentice]

What is the substrate? Coco coir? I'd make it a little damp because it looks pretty dry right now.