baby herman going upside down

[peggy]

i have a baby herman hatch last Aug...quite often i have found her upside down on her shell,how can i stop her doing this or will it harm her,she just stays there until i turn her back again

she hasnt got anything to climb onto only a few small pebbles,i keep her in a open top table

i check her several times throughout the day..

[yuna1971]

Peggy, just wondered - have you had a sneeky look to see how she is doing it?? If its one of these pacing the sides and scrabbling, it might be down to the sides not being high enough. Have you got her in a table, or viv? Hello by the way.... xx

[yuna1971]

...as Vicky says - stones around the basking area as this is where you DONT want it to happen. And yes, they can learn to right themselves...eventually. I dont know if its more dangerous for hatchlings being on their back though as opposed to the more mature?....

[peggy]

Originally Posted by yuna1971

...as Vicky says - stones around the basking area as this is where you DONT want it to happen. And yes, they can learn to right themselves...eventually. I dont know if its more dangerous for hatchlings being on their back though as opposed to the more mature?....

ah thanks for the quick replies
yes ive seen her pace around the sides..i keep her in a open table
but havent really seen her tumble over..only the day she was on her shell underneath the uv tube,i m not sure how long she was like that for..shes kept in my sons bedroom

is it worth putting pebbles around the sides
the sides are approx4-6 inchs...maybe as she grows we will higher the sides
..

[billytorty]

my first tort done this all the time when he was 1 - it never happens anymore - i reckon there is 3 factors. 1st thing i did was get a bigger table and broke up the line of site so he didnt feel the need to climb - 2nd was buy another tortoise so when the other walks past he uses the other tort to turn back again - 3rd is age the older they get the stronger they get and they right themselves easier.

hope this helps

[Pat]

Hi, Mine used to do this a lot (one in particular) I made a trench around the edge of the table so that if they did try and climb and tip over, they would not end up under the lamp.

I also found that if I put something like a place mat on the top of the table across the corners they stopped trying to climb up.

I have seen my smaller tort walk past my larger one when he had tipped over and help him up, but I have seen the smaller one on his back with the larger one no where in sight - oblivious to the struggle.

Pat x

[peggy]

Originally Posted by billytorty

my first tort done this all the time when he was 1 - it never happens anymore - i reckon there is 3 factors. 1st thing i did was get a bigger table and broke up the line of site so he didnt feel the need to climb - 2nd was buy another tortoise so when the other walks past he uses the other tort to turn back again - 3rd is age the older they get the stronger they get and they right themselves easier.

hope this helps

ah thanks
my table is plenty big enough for the size she is..buying another one cud be a option but cant afford one unless i get given one free ,i was told that torts are ok to live on their own..its always nice to have two but what if they dont get on

[peggy]

Originally Posted by Pat

Hi, Mine used to do this a lot (one in particular) I made a trench around the edge of the table so that if they did try and climb and tip over, they would not end up under the lamp.

I also found that if I put something like a place mat on the top of the table across the corners they stopped trying to climb up.

.

Pat x

thanks for the suggestions

[Helen M]

My 2 month old horsfield hatchlings have been terrible for this. They just love climbing their habba hut and sliding down it, unfortunately it doesn't always go to plan for them .

I have tried to just leave them to flip themselves over to the right position but I've found they give up trying after a minute so I have to intervene . They're definitely growing out of it now though and not climbing so much.

I think now they've hardened up they're not basking as much, or the same as they did so don't need to climb the log to get higher.

I would just observe him and try to pinpoint how he's flipping and try placing some pebbles that he can grip onto and hopefully right himself with them.

Helen xx

[Alan1]

Originally Posted by peggy

ah thanks
my table is plenty big enough for the size she is..buying another one cud be a option but cant afford one unless i get given one free ,i was told that torts are ok to live on their own..its always nice to have two but what if they dont get on

Hi Peggy. I have 2 and have to keep them apart for the very reason you are on about. One of them liked to go round and round without trying to climb the walls and the other one did try to climb the walls and was bulldozed over on every lap by the other one

People have had torts die when turning over near the lamp.

I have stones about two thirds of the way round. they are river cobbles, about £5 a bag from the garden centre and heavy enough that they can't move really. I have them spaced a shell's width apart and a shell's width from the walls. you can see them on here



they stand on back legs and try to get up the wall and end up fallin backwards. It's best to have things in there that don't move and that are not easy to climb. those flower pots don't have any grip for them to get up onto them but I've sometimes seen them come out the water dish and land upside down