Beaks

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Mar 23, 2017
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I'm a new rescue and I've taken in the sweetest little African leopard tortoise but her bottom beak is deformed and is growing up too long and now is cracked in the center can anyone help me with this issue?
 

Yvonne G

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Hi Michelle and welcome to the Forum!

You can trim the beak, in fact you SHOULD trim the beak. If you allow it to grow too long, it will eventually break off, and the break usually will go up into soft tissue where it will be very painful for the tortoise. I use both the toenail clippers and a Dremmel tool.
 

Robber

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Jun 19, 2013
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MO, USA
Hi Michelle and welcome to the Forum!

You can trim the beak, in fact you SHOULD trim the beak. If you allow it to grow too long, it will eventually break off, and the break usually will go up into soft tissue where it will be very painful for the tortoise. I use both the toenail clippers and a Dremmel tool.

How in the world are you able to keep them in position to do this? Luckily I haven't had to address any beak issues, but it is tricky just grabbing a good enough hold of a front leg to give an injection(note to those who haven't done it before: you have to hold on really tight and you do NOT want to have a finger pinched/mashed as a tortoise of decent size retracts into its shell...)
 
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