Stunt baby tortoise
 

So my baby hermanns has developed a habit of flipping herself over. I've moved everything that she can fall off but today I watched her try and climb the sides of her table and landed on her shell. I know this can be fatal if she does it under the heat light but will it affect her if she does it at the cool end and she is stuck for a long time? Theres usually one if us in the house but I worry when we are both out she will be upside down for hours x

This is quite normal for small tortoises.
You just have to keep/regularly check on them to make sure they have not flipped. Eventually they do stop flipping as often.
It can be fatel if they flip under a light, as they dehydrate quite quickly.
What I used to do is treat it as a cloudy day if I was going out, and just switch the heat off for the time I was out. But do remember to switch it back on again:0) They are fine for a few hours without the heat.

I would make sure there are plenty of things if possible she can manoeuvre against, maybe too small now? but they learn to twist up against objects to get up a foot hold sometimes. My adults who flip over will wiggle to a rock (or natural movement maybe) and others just go wild thrashing about in situ for momentum. The rock ones seems to get back easier...experience?

The other thing I would suggest is placing a large stone under the lamp perhaps so she isn't directly under the heat. Or peaking up the substrate so if she flips she tumbles away....not ideal I know. CB

Abbie, our baby Hermanns used to flip over all the time when we got him. He would try and try again to climb up to the top of his hubbahut from the front, standing on his rear limbs. I watched him flip 5 times in half an hour once as he lost balance and landed on his back. Freaked me right out, but He always managed to right himself. He does it less now, but still climbs like crazy!

She gives me a heart attack! Thanks for the replys, hoping she'll soon realise she's not a ninja!

Have any pics of the Ninja?

This is her scaling the walls. She got stuck. I might change her name, Maggie sounds far too sweet and innocent :)


http://i781.photobucket.com/albums/y...ps6jq5ucyi.jpg

Bungee ! fab photo there, cute as little tortoise. CB

Abbie - photo bucket state picture has been deleted . Can you check.

There is one of the cute little home.

Jan

Hi there. One way of reducing the risk is to give the tortoise a larger area and to have the lamp in the middle over flat ground. The tort can't go upside down on completely flat ground.

If the walls are far enough away, the tort won't be under the lamp if he goes upside down after trying to climb up the wall.

This is basically what I'm doing with the baby I've got.