Early morning tortoises and overgrown beak question

[Pond_Lilly]

Today was such a lovely morning, so I took some pics of my herd. On one photo you can see Dude, and his overgrown beak, they all eat the same diet, and get regular cuttlebone, yet he is the only one with a beak like that. What should I do, should I get it trimmed at this point by the vet, or maybe I could do something at home for him to deal with it? Thank you in advance.

 

[Yvonne G]

If you're talking about the last picture, that's not badly overgrown at all. Just find a flat piece of broken cement/concrete (I never know what to call it) and feed them on that.

 

[GingerLove]

Yes, that's hardly even overgrown! And I have to say that is one of the cutest pictures ever!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Pond_Lilly]

Oh, okey, I am relieved, thank you so much, I will try to find that flat stone plate, good idea!

Dude looked very cute this morning, I agree

 

[Anyfoot]

Today was such a lovely morning, so I took some pics of my herd. On one photo you can see Dude, and his overgrown beak, they all eat the same diet, and get regular cuttlebone, yet he is the only one with a beak like that. What should I do, should I get it trimmed at this point by the vet, or maybe I could do something at home for him to deal with it? Thank you in advance.

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Looks good to me, the serated edge(teeth like) allows your tort to cut through food, feed off a slate and don't cut food up, make them use the beak, if everything is bite size there is no need for beak work. Mine like to gnaw around mango stones ,tare off foliage when outside for example.
Maybe a cuttlebone will help too.

I've often wondered what is considered a perfect beak shape, I had a couple of reds that when I first got them they could not hurt me when biting, so I imagined that wasn't good for eating. When they have that slight hook shape beak there is no problem eating anything.
Nothing worse than trying to eat a plum that pushes away from a blunt beak with every bite. Lol.

 

[Pond_Lilly]

Oh, yeah, mango stone! I totally forgot about it. Mine also love to work on it, I should probably give it more. You are right about ridges being helpful, I did not think about that. ​

 

[allegraf]

Beautiful torts! That beak isn't bad at all. I had a male that looked like he had rabbit buck teeth. I used a drimmel to wear it back a bit. Not too close but enough so when he started eating it would shave it down. Love those red heads!

 

[Pond_Lilly]

Beautiful torts! That beak isn't bad at all. I had a male that looked like he had rabbit buck teeth. I used a drimmel to wear it back a bit. Not too close but enough so when he started eating it would shave it down. Love those red heads!

Good to know!

One of these is yours, Clovis baby He is on the second picture ( from the top) closest to the camera. He is a spirited little bugger, marches all over the the place, so cute! He is very colorful, his shell is getting lighter and he is marbling too.

 

[allegraf]

Holy Moly! I produce lookers! Clovis and friends look great! Good job raising them!

 

[Anyfoot]

Yeah I forgot to say. They all look stunning.

 

[Redstrike]

What a good looking group!

The beak is marginally over grown, try picking up some collard greens and let him/her chew the stalks 1/week.

Cuttlebone will also continue to help. I also feed mine on rocks and that aids to keep beaks trimmed.

 

[Octavious22]

Feed them on tile slates you can find them at home depot for a buck or two.

 

[Pond_Lilly]

What a good looking group!

The beak is marginally over grown, try picking up some collard greens and let him/her chew the stalks 1/week.

Cuttlebone will also continue to help. I also feed mine on rocks and that aids to keep beaks trimmed.

Will definitely try collard greens, I usually do not give them those, will start now. Thank you!

 

[Redstrike]

Will definitely try collard greens, I usually do not give them those, will start now. Thank you!

It's only one idea. They have pretty solid stocks. If you have any aversion to collards I'm sure you and others could propose a multitude of good beak trimming foods!

 

[allegraf]

Yours eat collard greens? Mine hated them and wasted the bunch. I may need to try again. It is abundant and cheep here in south florida.

 

[allegraf]

Also, a tile plate may not be enough. We picked up some travertine extra tiles cheap since they were left over and since then, everyone's beaks are worn down perfectly and the travertine hoses off all the gunk left over nicely!

 

[Anyfoot]

Today was such a lovely morning, so I took some pics of my herd. On one photo you can see Dude, and his overgrown beak, they all eat the same diet, and get regular cuttlebone, yet he is the only one with a beak like that. What should I do, should I get it trimmed at this point by the vet, or maybe I could do something at home for him to deal with it? Thank you in advance.

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@Pond_Lilly. I'm curious how you have cared for these. They look good. Just a few questions.
What has their diet consisted of?
What method have you used to keep them hydrated?
Also what size are these guys?

 

[Pond_Lilly]

@Pond_Lilly. I'm curious how you have cared for these. They look good. Just a few questions.
What has their diet consisted of?
What method have you used to keep them hydrated?
Also what size are these guys?

Diet:
Greens: dandelion greens, hibiscus leaves, lettuce, prickly pear cactus, including "pears"
Mushrooms: bella
Fruit: watermelon, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, grapes, pears, mango, papaya, etc
Flowers: hibiscus, roses
Protein: waxworms, krill, mealworms, earthworms, slugs, snails
cuttleboneB
rarely: mazuri

Hydration:

They sleep inside the house in a bin, and spend their day outside in their pen. When they were young, I kept them in moist sphagnum moss. Now, I basically hose them in the morning, sometimes keep the sprinkler running for some time, they also have shallow dishes with water. We are in Florida, so humidity is not a problem

Size (all cherryheads):

Sunny (DOB 12/2010): weight 1604 g, length 8.5 inches
Berry (DOB 01/2011): weight 803 g, length 6.5 inches (Berry is smaller for some unknown reason)
Dude: (DOB 02/2011): weight 1106 g, length 7.5 inches
Mr. Pipsi (DOB 02/2011): weight 1197 g, length 7.5 inches
Clovis (DOB 03/2014): weight 420 g, length 5 inches
Persik (DOB 03/2014): weight 463 g, length 5.5 inches

I think they have somewhat slow growth as I do not feed them much, some stuff in the morning and a snack in the evening. below are some graphs of their weight and length over years.

 

[Anyfoot]

Thank you Lilly. That's very detailed information.
Can I see some photos of just Berry please?

 

[Pond_Lilly]

Thank you Lilly. That's very detailed information.
Can I see some photos of just Berry please?

Berry is the one yawning on the first picture, and the second closest to the camera on the second picture. I will try to take more pics today.