I have a 15 month old spur. Very healthy, good weight, active etc.

I have problems with him keep falling upside down. I have made the tank uneven so he could right himself but alas he doesn't.

Every day for the last few weeks i have found him upside down. Twice he was in his water bowl almost drowning, twice under the light almost cooked.

He continually climbs the walls and tips himself over.

I have another tort a Leopard she has the run of the dining room as she is bigger and a pen in the garden in the summer, she never gets herself into scrapes like Stanley. I cannot allow him free reign as he is too small.

He also has a purpose built pen in the garden and he does the same in that.

Have you any idea's as i am terrified that one day it is going to end in tragedy

Hi, Im not to sure why they do it,but Im sure someone will be along shortly to tell you why.
My boy junior used to do it when he was younger. He would get wound up, start paceing and climbing things and just flip over. He seemed to grow out of it as he got older..........tiggy

Unfortunatley theres not much you can do except remove all hazards. You could turn heat lamp off when you're out or have it on a timer if thats an option?

The 2 worst hazards are the water bowl & the heat lamp. If you remove these then if he does tip himself over he would be fine for a few hours - just obviously make sure you bath him when you find him like this to ensure he is hydrated.

Its hard to say why they do this.....boredom? hunger? Who knows! I have a reasonably sized outside enclosure that has food available in the form of weeds, theres lots of distractions, water, shelter, space etc but still one or two of them will roam around the perimeter and climb

Eventually they will hopefully learn to roll back over

One of mine used to do this and it only stopped when i increased the depths of the sides of their table so they couldn't see the top at all. Are you able to add some height to the sides of your table? x

Thank you for you replies.

The indoor pen is very big and deep it's a single wardrobe. He is about as round as a tea cup. He cannot see over. It is landscaped and has weeds growing in there. The water is sunk into the ground and has large pebbles in there.

The outdoor enclosure is about 8ft square, again landscaped. I can walk into it as it is more like an aviary. The sides are covered with grape vine and other good plants and it has weeds planted in there. He has a cold frame and a water feature. He still just spends all his time climbing and trying to get out. Whe he is bigger he can have the whole garden as long as he doesnt chase my dogs as he does now

I think that i will only allow him his water bowl when i am in and his light is now on a timer.

As for boredom what else can i give him..he did used to share with two other sibblings but he was a total bully and liked to bite them (now he just bites me) They have now moved out and still live together and appear very happy. I am left with the one with .....character!!

I love the way you have put that "The one with character"....... When I say junior is a pain............I will start useing your term.....tiggy

MMMMMmm i have a few terms like that. I foster children and most of them have character!!