Beak too long

[TinaH]

Hi,

I just adopted a 7inch female Russian last night.
Her beak is about a half centimeter longer than my other (6.5inch)Russian's beak.

The woman I adopted her from said her favorite food is apples, which I don't intend to give her, but probably she has been eating food that is too soft for a while.

I read some old posts on trimming the beak. I don't intend to use a dremmell, but maybe could try a nail file or nail clippers?

She is very stressed from the move. She hasn't tried to eat anything yet, so I don't know if she will be able to eat food that isn't soft or cut up.

I'm sure I should wait a while to see if she will eventually eat by herself before I try any trimming. I have plenty of cuttlebones and my food bowls are unglazed pottery trays.

Does anyone have advice about how long I should wait, or what else I can do?

The general staples of my torties' diet is: bok choy, collards, cabbbage, dandelions, watercress, broccoli, kale, etc, and I don't cut them up much. I did put out a carrot, which she sniffed as though she was interested, but she did not eat it.

Thanks,
Tina

 

[coreyc]

Hi,

I just adopted a 7inch female Russian last night.
Her beak is about a half centimeter longer than my other (6.5inch)Russian's beak.

The woman I adopted her from said her favorite food is apples, which I don't intend to give her, but probably she has been eating food that is too soft for a while.

I read some old posts on trimming the beak. I don't intend to use a dremmell, but maybe could try a nail file or nail clippers?

She is very stressed from the move. She hasn't tried to eat anything yet, so I don't know if she will be able to eat food that isn't soft or cut up.

I'm sure I should wait a while to see if she will eventually eat by herself before I try any trimming. I have plenty of cuttlebones and my food bowls are unglazed pottery trays.

Does anyone have advice about how long I should wait, or what else I can do?

The general staples of my torties' diet is: bok choy, collards, cabbbage, dandelions, watercress, broccoli, kale, etc, and I don't cut them up much. I did put out a carrot, which she sniffed as though she was interested, but she did not eat it.

Thanks,
Tina

Can you post a pic's so we can see her?

 

[ascott]

Congrats on the new one

I would avoid doing anything overly stressful to the newbie for a while...let her settle in before the treachery of the beak trimming, IMHO.

I would make sure to feed her on something that forces her to scrape her beak as she eats (like a slate tile or concrete step stone) to help file it down as she eats (when she begins to eat).

Here is a good site to review and gather some food choices from and to learn why some of the items you use as a staple should be reconsidered and changed to feeding sometimes vs regularly....

http://russiantortoise.net/russiantortoisediet.htm