Beak Length on Russian Tortoise

bruneau98

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Hi! I recently got my russian tortoise, Bruneau, from a friend of a friend and I am having a hard time telling if his beak needs to be trimmed? I’ve looked through some threads on here with images of other tortoises and I still am not sure if his is healthy or not. He eats off of a rough tile but I haven’t noticed a change. I have a dremel that I grind my dogs nails with but I’m a bit terrified to try that on his beak so I won’t if I don’t have to! Thanks for any advice!
 

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Ink

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I am no expert but my answer is yes, it needs to be trimmed. Wait for an expert to help @Yvonne G or @Tom
 

zovick

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Hi! I recently got my russian tortoise, Bruneau, from a friend of a friend and I am having a hard time telling if his beak needs to be trimmed? I’ve looked through some threads on here with images of other tortoises and I still am not sure if his is healthy or not. He eats off of a rough tile but I haven’t noticed a change. I have a dremel that I grind my dogs nails with but I’m a bit terrified to try that on his beak so I won’t if I don’t have to! Thanks for any advice!
Yes, the beak is too long. It is certainly not as bad as many we have seen on this forum, but it could stand to be trimmed.
 

autumn_0201

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Hi! I recently got my russian tortoise, Bruneau, from a friend of a friend and I am having a hard time telling if his beak needs to be trimmed? I’ve looked through some threads on here with images of other tortoises and I still am not sure if his is healthy or not. He eats off of a rough tile but I haven’t noticed a change. I have a dremel that I grind my dogs nails with but I’m a bit terrified to try that on his beak so I won’t if I don’t have to! Thanks for any advice!

I'm not an expert either but yes, it DOES look quite long to me. Definitely needs some trimming here. Here's a video from one of my favorite tortoise keepers, Kamp Kenan, on how to trim a tort's beak correctly. Hope this helps.

 

ArmadilloPup

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If you are more comfortable with it, you can use a filing/emery board. It's useful to have a second pair of hands, but you can do it solo by propping them in your lap and gently placing a ring/pinkie finger behind the tortoise's head so it can't retreat into its shell. (Edit: Use thumb/forefinger to pry open the mouth - yes, they're gonna hate it)

If you go electronic - I like the handheld Dremel (not the gun shape KK is using) so I can position thumb/forefinger closer to the head of the dremel for more control and "fine tuning." I also own an Oster and a Pedipaws but I would not try a beak grinding with either. Dremel all the way!
 
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