Special needs tortoise

I have a Cherry RF named Rafael who I received and I have had him for about three months. He had shell damage (indents on scute) and I also treated him for shell rot. I never received info on how or why he got like that but he is very young (not sure of exact age). He is 3 inches SCL and only weighs 60 grams. His main problem is that his neck is too short to reach his food and I have to hand feed him. He has a lot of heart and gives his 100 percent to try and reach his reach his food on his own but he will only manage to get a bite or two before giving up. I just wanted to share this and maybe receive some advice from anyone who has had a tortoise with a similar problem.

Feed on a flat rock . This should help him eat and keep his beak trimmed .

You might have to make this adjustment every day:

Dig out a slight depression in one corner of the habitat and place the feeding tile down in the depression so it is lower than the surrounding substrate. Pile the food on the tile up against the back wall so it doesn't push away when he grabs for it.

The more you make him stretch for his food, the easier it will become for him.

Yvonne G said:

You might have to make this adjustment every day:

Dig out a slight depression in one corner of the habitat and place the feeding tile down in the depression so it is lower than the surrounding substrate. Pile the food on the tile up against the back wall so it doesn't push away when he grabs for it.

The more you make him stretch for his food, the easier it will become for him.

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Thank you, Yvonne. Do you mean something like this?

Actually, what you've done is probably even better than what I had in mind. Just take away the dish so the tortoise is a bit lower than the food.

Yvonne G said:

Actually, what you've done is probably even better than what I had in mind. Just take away the dish so the tortoise is a bit lower than the food.

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Works out perfectly. Now he can eat on his own time. Thanks.

i'll be rooting for this lil one but may i ask is going on with his head? looks all scraped up

naturalman91 said:

i'll be rooting for this lil one but may i ask is going on with his head? looks all scraped up

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I believe it is some shedding.