tortoise on its back

[bmorris]

first timer here.. have a baby sulcata. I am a teacher and have him in my room in a wooden box. I came in this morning after the weekend to find him on his back/side. Don't know how long he had been like that. He seems fine..he ate and had a bath but his shell is a bit lopsided now. Will this correct itself? will he be ok? consequently the shell is heavier on one side. eeek

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Bmorris:

Welcome to the forum!!

Now, don't get upset, as I'm NOT picking on you, only offering my opinion and help:

In my opinion, tortoises don't belong in a classroom. They are wild animals (as opposed to domesticated animals) and need to be outside as much as possible. If you want to have him in the classroom during the day when you are at school, that's great, and a wonderful teaching tool, however, when you go home, so should the tortoise. Unless that baby can get some sunshine and some outside time, he's going to turn soft and die.

I would have my tortoise set up at school, then a small cardboard box to carry him back and forth, and then also a tortoise set up at home, hopefully an outdoor set up.

Baby tortoises are a bit soft when they first hatch. If yours is a very young baby, and he was laying on his side all week-end, then its reasonable to see a bit of distortion. He'll smooth out and go back to normal. The worst you have to imagine would be if he were upside down under the light. He would have been dead when you got back to school, in that case.

And if you left him at school all week end, what about his light? Tortoises are cold blooded and need to be able to sit under a light (or the sun) to warm up their body. They won't eat unless they're warm because they can't digest their food.

I'm so glad you have found our forum. Please read through the sulcata section and familiarize yourself with how to care for a baby tortoise.

 

[bmorris]

Hi Bmorris:

Welcome to the forum!!

Now, don't get upset, as I'm NOT picking on you, only offering my opinion and help:

In my opinion, tortoises don't belong in a classroom. They are wild animals (as opposed to domesticated animals) and need to be outside as much as possible. If you want to have him in the classroom during the day when you are at school, that's great, and a wonderful teaching tool, however, when you go home, so should the tortoise. Unless that baby can get some sunshine and some outside time, he's going to turn soft and die.

I would have my tortoise set up at school, then a small cardboard box to carry him back and forth, and then also a tortoise set up at home, hopefully an outdoor set up.

Baby tortoises are a bit soft when they first hatch. If yours is a very young baby, and he was laying on his side all week-end, then its reasonable to see a bit of distortion. He'll smooth out and go back to normal. The worst you have to imagine would be if he were upside down under the light. He would have been dead when you got back to school, in that case.

And if you left him at school all week end, what about his light? Tortoises are cold blooded and need to be able to sit under a light (or the sun) to warm up their body. They won't eat unless they're warm because they can't digest their food.

I'm so glad you have found our forum. Please read through the sulcata section and familiarize yourself with how to care for a baby tortoise.

---

thank you so very much. I will be taking him home every day from now on. He is by a huge window and has a heat light on all the time with a thermometer and UV lights on a timer. I will be making other plans for him when it starts getting cold but I live near Galveston so I really dont think he has gotten too cold yet. He has been eating very well so I do think he is warm enough. I freaked when I saw him this morning on his side tho so I will be taking him home each day. I am just glad his shell will be ok. thanks!

 

[HarleyK]

just a quick note, be sure to turn off the uv lamps at night (if they are emitting light) and use a heater (ie ceramic heat emitter) to keep night time temps adequate.....

 

[Missy]

How old is your tort? I would love to see pics Light through a window and lights are ok but he does need outside time. Do you have a young class? Can you take him out on recess? I think it is great to have animals in a classroom. Do you let the kids handle him? If so, make sure they wash there hands before and after. This is a great forum to learn how to take care of torts so I am so glad you found us