Ninja tortoise?

Question
QUESTION: I have a male 15y+ Mediterranean spurred tortoise, he has a habit of climbing several feet up vertical stone walls -quite expertly - digs his claws in like crampons and up he goes - is this normal?

ANSWER: Perfectly normal. These guys come from a very rocky habitat and are really good at rock scaling.

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QUESTION: I have filmed him going up, but how do they come down?  I have been lifting him down because I think that a 3 foot fall can't be too good for him. His mate - a 20y+ - climbs until she falls over on her back and lies there legs flailing - should I leave her alone or turn her right side up?  You can tell I'm new to this - in the last month 3 of tortoises have turned up in my garden and spend the days happily eating, climbing and cop*lating :-)


Answer
Like cats, they learn how to get down safely from experience. They can also usually right themselves, but are OK for a day or more as long as they are not beign attacked by predators or being broiled by the sun. The vast majority of the time, they do just fine- just peek at them once in a while to make sure.

There is a great site for cares and info at http://www.tortoisetrust.org, and a good enthusiasts forum at http://www.tortoiseforum.org

Good luck!