Finally tackled the beak

smarch

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After nearly 7 years with Franklin, despite feeding on terra cotta saucers his beak continued to grow, possibly because he likes to drag his food everywhere to eat it. I’ve tried various times to file down the beak, but always worried I’d hurt him when I did the head catch between the fingers because he’d pull back so hard until his eyes got puffy. But it finally got to the point where I’m beyond emarassed it got that far, so I reached out to the vet I’ve been too before and they aren’t taking in new clients (I guess after 6 years I’m no longer a current one) they referred me to another who’s actually closer (we have very few exotic vets here) so I got some basic info and how much it would ring me up bill wise... but they told me he would HAVE to be sedated. And I’m not comfortable with that one bit, looked it up here and there was only one thread on it, and the veteran keepers seemed to agree with my already negative idea of it. So, this morning I put on my big girl pants and went to work, my little nail dremal was dead and I couldn’t fix it so I tried a nail file for all of 2 seconds, before deciding a nail clipper although terrifying would be the best bet. Franklin popped all over himself (and me), put up a good fight, I now know for a fact he’s a boy because at one point he tried flashing me to get rid of me so now that I’ve actually seen his tortoise bits I know without a doubt he’s male, but we finally made some huge progress. It’s kinda choppy and it’s not perfect but it looks soooo much better and should be way easier for him to eat... even though he’s decided my romain peace offering deserved to be pooped on (funny because I’m my before picture he was munching on a peace offering after I made him sit in the empty bathtub for close to an hour while I changed all his substrate out.

He just looked out his tank at me sitting next to him on the couch as if to say “thank you”

ECECF750-FB02-419C-BEFE-BF2A0B450205.jpg
 

jsheffield

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After nearly 7 years with Franklin, despite feeding on terra cotta saucers his beak continued to grow, possibly because he likes to drag his food everywhere to eat it. I’ve tried various times to file down the beak, but always worried I’d hurt him when I did the head catch between the fingers because he’d pull back so hard until his eyes got puffy. But it finally got to the point where I’m beyond emarassed it got that far, so I reached out to the vet I’ve been too before and they aren’t taking in new clients (I guess after 6 years I’m no longer a current one) they referred me to another who’s actually closer (we have very few exotic vets here) so I got some basic info and how much it would ring me up bill wise... but they told me he would HAVE to be sedated. And I’m not comfortable with that one bit, looked it up here and there was only one thread on it, and the veteran keepers seemed to agree with my already negative idea of it. So, this morning I put on my big girl pants and went to work, my little nail dremal was dead and I couldn’t fix it so I tried a nail file for all of 2 seconds, before deciding a nail clipper although terrifying would be the best bet. Franklin popped all over himself (and me), put up a good fight, I now know for a fact he’s a boy because at one point he tried flashing me to get rid of me so now that I’ve actually seen his tortoise bits I know without a doubt he’s male, but we finally made some huge progress. It’s kinda choppy and it’s not perfect but it looks soooo much better and should be way easier for him to eat... even though he’s decided my romain peace offering deserved to be pooped on (funny because I’m my before picture he was munching on a peace offering after I made him sit in the empty bathtub for close to an hour while I changed all his substrate out.

He just looked out his tank at me sitting next to him on the couch as if to say “thank you”

View attachment 266828

That was brave and kind ... Nice job!

Jamie
 

zovick

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It looks good. You have made a very good start. If you keep after it periodically now, the beak should become smoother and more normal looking over time. Just keep chipping away with the nail clippers and try to bevel the edge of the beak from the outside to the inside. That way, as it wears down with use, it continually becomes sharper.

You may be able to smooth it out and bevel it somewhat with a nail file in the next few days (after giving yourself and your tortoise a bit of a break from the stress of the initial procedure).
 

smarch

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It looks good. You have made a very good start. If you keep after it periodically now, the beak should become smoother and more normal looking over time. Just keep chipping away with the nail clippers and try to bevel the edge of the beak from the outside to the inside. That way, as it wears down with use, it continually becomes sharper.

You may be able to smooth it out and bevel it somewhat with a nail file in the next few days (after giving yourself and your tortoise a bit of a break from the stress of the initial procedure).

I’ll be leaving him alone for at least a week after this ordeal, that was suuuuper stressful for me and I can only imagine him, we had to have been at it for nearly an hour without break with me trying to catch him then him deciding to keep his head in his shell.
I’m just glad I cut away that giant bit that was in his way, it must have been terribly difficult for him to eat. Getting the sides definitely proved to be the hardest, I was finding out I could “catch” his beak from underneath with the clippers and get the front even if his head was tucked in, not so much the sides.
 

smarch

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Chia pets don’t grow in my house because that’s how little light I have, and I went and got a bunch of seeds for my Christmas swap gift one, but under tortoise light they grow, so I just put new seed on it and once they sprout I’ll be putting it in with him to munch on and hopefully help with his beak naturally breaking as well as the regular terra cotta dish his food goes in.
 

Wright78

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Great job. I'm also from MA. Just curious what exotic vet doctors did you find? I had been dealing with one a while ago 12+ years but wasn't happy with the care.
 

smarch

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Great job. I'm also from MA. Just curious what exotic vet doctors did you find? I had been dealing with one a while ago 12+ years but wasn't happy with the care.

I’m from Worcester and 5 years ago when Franklin went on a hunger strike I went to the VCA in Westboro. Im sure I still have the guys card not even sure if he still is their exotic vet, and I was pleased, but they weren’t accepting new clients now, so they pointed me to the VCA in Worcester, emailed asking about the procedure and costs so I didn’t walk in blindsided with a few hundred dollar fee and they explained he’d have to be sedated for the dr to do it and I’m simply not comfy with that idea for something so “simple”. There was another exotic in Worcester I found back 5 years ago at the bird hospital but all the online reviews were very not good even for cats so I stayed clear.
 

Toddrickfl1

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Chia pets don’t grow in my house because that’s how little light I have, and I went and got a bunch of seeds for my Christmas swap gift one, but under tortoise light they grow, so I just put new seed on it and once they sprout I’ll be putting it in with him to munch on and hopefully help with his beak naturally breaking as well as the regular terra cotta dish his food goes in.
I just recently planted some Chia seeds in my hatchlings enclosure too. It adds a nice touch plus the Tortoise can eat them if he pleases.IMG_20190309_133447150.jpg
 

smarch

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I just recently planted some Chia seeds in my hatchlings enclosure too. It adds a nice touch plus the Tortoise can eat them if he pleases.View attachment 266874

Mine would trample them if I direct planted and then throw them in his water dish and poop on them. He has issues lol. In his defense his enclosure is smaller than I’d like but until I’m in a house house I can’t build a giant table and have to move out. He’ll likely throw the whole chia pet zombie into his water too but at least that can be removed to give a break to grow back.
 

JMM

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I’m from Worcester and 5 years ago when Franklin went on a hunger strike I went to the VCA in Westboro. Im sure I still have the guys card not even sure if he still is their exotic vet, and I was pleased, but they weren’t accepting new clients now, so they pointed me to the VCA in Worcester, emailed asking about the procedure and costs so I didn’t walk in blindsided with a few hundred dollar fee and they explained he’d have to be sedated for the dr to do it and I’m simply not comfy with that idea for something so “simple”. There was another exotic in Worcester I found back 5 years ago at the bird hospital but all the online reviews were very not good even for cats so I stayed clear.

Mine would trample them if I direct planted and then throw them in his water dish and poop on them. He has issues lol. In his defense his enclosure is smaller than I’d like but until I’m in a house house I can’t build a giant table and have to move out. He’ll likely throw the whole chia pet zombie into his water too but at least that can be removed to give a break to grow back.
I’m from Worcester and 5 years ago when Franklin went on a hunger strike I went to the VCA in Westboro. Im sure I still have the guys card not even sure if he still is their exotic vet, and I was pleased, but they weren’t accepting new clients now, so they pointed me to the VCA in Worcester, emailed asking about the procedure and costs so I didn’t walk in blindsided with a few hundred dollar fee and they explained he’d have to be sedated for the dr to do it and I’m simply not comfy with that idea for something so “simple”. There was another exotic in Worcester I found back 5 years ago at the bird hospital but all the online reviews were very not good even for cats so I stayed clear.

For those in Central MA, I would suggest Tufts--they have an excellent Exotics service.
 

smarch

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For those in Central MA, I would suggest Tufts--they have an excellent Exotics service.

I honestly didn’t even think of Tufts to have an Exotics, I hear tufts and I think of emergency vet and lots of money. That’s good to know.
 

Yvonne G

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Is beak trimming only for certain species or all? I have a South African Leopard tort..
All, but there usually isn't a need for it if they're outside and grazing on their own. Also, if you don't cut up their food and if you feed them on a rough surface it helps in keeping the beak trimmed.
 

Sleppo

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Thanks for sharing your experience with this, at some point I am going to need to do the same. I was just as worried about doing their nails but found that to be surprisingly easy.
 

smarch

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All, but there usually isn't a need for it if they're outside and grazing on their own. Also, if you don't cut up their food and if you feed them on a rough surface it helps in keeping the beak trimmed.

My problem was I fed him nice whole leaves and on a terra cotta dish as suggested, but he takes his food everywhere and never actually ate that much on the rough surface. At the moment he’s in a smaller than I’d like enclosure just because I’m not going to build a bigger tortoise table into my apartment and have to make it work when I move, also I know for a fact the current one I have is cat proof while my young hooligan of a cat is lose when I’m at work. Someday I’ll have my own yard for an outside day enclosure, though it’d take a lot before I could have the courage to keep him out while I’m at work.
 
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