Beak clipping - vet or DIY? Advice please.

[LeopardTortLover]

My tortoise needs her beak clipping. I've never done it before and am contemplating either doing it myself (for which I'd like some advice on how to do it and what with?) or taking her to a vet which I dont really want to do because I just get so worried about him hurting her - accidently of course.

Is beak clipping scary for a tortoise? What would you do if you'd never done it before? And how do you do it/stop their head from retracting?

I've heard of using a regular nail file or a dremmel? This sounds scary!

 

[jaizei]

Dremel

Clippers

 

[kjr153]

Someone on here (believe Yvonne) suggested feeding the tort on a stepping stone. It will file it down.

 

[mctlong]

Why don't you have the vet do it and show you how so that you can do it yourself the next time-

 

[LeopardTortLover]

Someone on here (believe Yvonne) suggested feeding the tort on a stepping stone. It will file it down.

She gets fed on an upturned bathroom tile (so the rough side) but it hasnt done any good as she'll just avoid scraping her beak on it.

And thanks Jaizei

---

Why don't you have the vet do it and show you how so that you can do it yourself the next time-

Yeah that's a good idea - if I dont have to leave her in that is. Im so worried he'll hurt her, or i'll hurt her if I do it myself. But I've just read the dremmel thread and read you have to hold their head out (which I guess I expected) but I just couldn't do it.

Hmm.... maybe your right and the vet should show me how to do it. Might sound stupid, but do they put them under anaesthetic at the vets? Or do it while they're awake?

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

Someone on here (believe Yvonne) suggested feeding the tort on a stepping stone. It will file it down.

I do this, too.

 

[LeopardTortLover]

Does anybody know whether the vets put torts to sleep to do a beak trim? Or are they awake?

 

[mctlong]

They trim/drimmel the beaks while they're awake.

 

[N2TORTS]

Here ya go ........

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-66943.html



I knew we should have sticky'ed this one ..Mod's ~

 

[mctlong]

Here ya go ........

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-66943.html



I knew we should have sticky'ed this one ..Mod's ~

Its already stickied, JD, on the top of the Tortoise Health section, here: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/forum-127.html

 

[tyrs4u]

Emery boards are a god sent

 

[N2TORTS]

Here ya go ........

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-66943.html



I knew we should have sticky'ed this one ..Mod's ~

Its already stickied, JD, on the top of the Tortoise Health section, here: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/forum-127.html

Opps.....shows ya how much I pay attention to the stickies! ...<grin>
my Bad ..........

 

[LeopardTortLover]

My bad too!

I put it under general discussion because I wanted to know what the majority of people do - vet or DIY? And whether people thought it was easy or difficult to do?