Tortoises beak
- Thread starter Reptilelove
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yillt
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Get a nail clipper and slowly snip away at the end. Or put his food on a piece of slate. If those don't work you can take him to the vet. But I find that to expensive for its worth.
Reptilelove
Active Member
Ooh ok, this is scary but i will try it
Once it trimmed down use a flat rock as a feeding plate. It will keep that beak and nails trimmed for ya.
Don't try it if you are not sure, take it to a vet instead.
Does your tortoise have a piece of cuttlebone available? It really helps too.
Joey
Reptilelove
Active Member
Ah ok, will do, so shall i get rid of the feeding bowl(i have to get a bigger one anyway)
Yep. A flat rock or a ceramic tile from a home goods store works well.
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Vets use a dremel tool. You can use a nail file. I personally would not use clippers for most beaks because of the risk that it could break on a fault line. A file would not take too much off at a time or create heat & noise. The ones made for acrylic nails are cheap & strong.
Slate! I would be afraid that I could hurt him with a clipper! After a while of eating on the rock, it should file down. Also, try hard food like carrots added it. Does he eat a cuttlebone? That helps too.
Reptilelove
Active Member
Thats a better idea! And yeah but she doesnt touch it
Sometimes it takes a while.
But I'd suggest first go to the vet. And then keep it up to par with the cuttlebone.
If you are reluctant to so don't do it, but let a vet handle it. Might be good so your tortoise can be fully checked out
Also you could get the zoomed tortoise block that is calcium infused with opuntia cactus and other greens.
Keep me posted curious to follow your situation
Best of luck!!
Joey
Is he still eating okay with it like that?
To help prevent it, like you have been told feed on a rougher dish (unglazed terra cotta) or a flat stone or slate. A carrot (whole) once a month would be okay. Cuttlebones can be helpful. A good thing is to be feeding him things like weeds and tree leaves which have a tougher stem and leaf consistency. Too often we only feed greens grown for humans, which is too soft because we water them and treat the plants so nice. Another thing we do, is we cut up their food. That ripping and tearing helps with beak wear. Make sure you feed all of the leaf or plant, not just the nice tender part of the leaves, those stems are needed too.
To help prevent it, like you have been told feed on a rougher dish (unglazed terra cotta) or a flat stone or slate. A carrot (whole) once a month would be okay. Cuttlebones can be helpful. A good thing is to be feeding him things like weeds and tree leaves which have a tougher stem and leaf consistency. Too often we only feed greens grown for humans, which is too soft because we water them and treat the plants so nice. Another thing we do, is we cut up their food. That ripping and tearing helps with beak wear. Make sure you feed all of the leaf or plant, not just the nice tender part of the leaves, those stems are needed too.
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Lots of great advice already, just wanted to add that the feeding on a slate is a great idea, and to offer more larger/tougher food items for him to try eating. Big pieces of food he has to take bites off of help give him something to do, wears down his beak, and provides a bit of mental stimulation as they work out the easiest way to eat big food pieces.
-Jen
-Jen
Reptilelove
Active Member
Im going to find a piece of slate for their food bowl and i do already give whole leaves and stuff like that but i will try a whole carrot soon, thanks for all the advice
