In the past two weeks, my 23-year-old Herman’s tortoise has flipped himself on his back at least 4 times in different areas of his enclosure. This is very unusual behavior. Before this, he would flip himself over about twice every six months. I’m worried because I can’t always be there to help him back up. The weird part is that he has started biting my feet whenever he gets the chance, which is very different from how he used to be. The only change I made was switching his bedding from topsoil to orchid bark. Does anyone know why he might be doing this? I’m really concerned for him.
When you’ve found him flipped over recently, was there any feces or urine around him? I’ve heard of tortoises acting out and becoming a little more nippy, but it doesn’t usually last. Since the flipping seems like a bigger issue, I’m curious if it’s linked to the bedding change. Maybe he’s not used to the new surface and is trying to climb and is flipping himself over as a result. You could try lowering the water in his enclosure if it’s high or add some ramps to help prevent flipping. Another thing to check: Does he have a log or something else in the enclosure that he might be climbing on? If so, ramps might help with that too.
Thanks a lot for your reply! There was feces around him once but not on the other occasions. I switched his bedding about two months ago. I’ll try lowering the water and see if that helps. I might also remove his climbing toy to see if that makes any difference. The strange part is that he’s even flipping in the dark corner where he sleeps, and there’s nothing in there except for him and his bedding. That really surprised me. Thanks again for your advice!