Beak trimming and Underbites?

[Hustler]

A lady called me with a redfoot she needed a new home for, it had a problem and no one wanted to help her with it so I went to pick it up today and this is the first time ive ever seen a long beak on a tort... And its very bad to say the least.... Also its the bottom jaw and not the beak per say.
It dosent hinder her at all but there must be a way to treat this and get it at the least under control?

Thanks for all the help guys,

 

[wellington]

OMG The poor thing. I would think you could file it as you would the top beak. However I really don't know if there is a difference between the makeup of the one from the other. Wait to see what others say. Good luck, great save. Good for you

 

[Hustler]

When i saw it.... my heart dropped... and I know if i didnt take it this poor girl would end up in a 30 gallon somewhere

 

[lisalove]

Awww-she has an underbite just like me little French Bulldog

 

[Redstrike]

The lower-jaw contains the hinge, so if you file it, the motion has potential to dislocate it and/or damage connective tissues etc. Wait for some more experienced rescuers to chime in first, but if it were me I'd bring it to a vet and let some professionals work on it.

The only thing I can think of is to use some sort of rotary saw - like a dremmel - but you'd want to make sure it functions like a "cast-cutter" (i.e. it's sharpened only on the sides of the blades) this way it couldn't cut the tortoise with head-on contact. Anyone who has ever had a cast removed will know what I'm talking about here. It would also have to be very sharp on the sides so that the jaw isn't dislocated by dull teeth getting hung up and shifting the lower jaw around.

Not much help, but it's all I can think of. Again, I'd bring it to a vet as they likely have equipment like I described above.

 

[Mgridgaway]

Wow, I've never seen anything like that. Almost seems more like a genetic defect than a husbandry one.

 

[dmmj]

If it was the top part of the beak, I would say give it a try. But with the bottom lip like that it is either a birth defect, or a husbandry issue. I would let a experienced vet take care of it if possible.

 

[Tropical Torts]

wow tht is horrible, howdoes tht even happen? Since you cant really file it without damaging the jaw you could maybe use a dremel tool. Smaller versions of the tool is used for very light sanding suffaces in the home so I think it might work with out harming the little girl. You can find the dremel tool at lowes or home depot and you can buy different attachments to the tool tht would be easier and less harmful on a tort.

The reason i think this might work is because my dad is a dentist and he used to make false teeth and wuld use the dremel tool in the process.

Hope this helps or you find a better solution, keep us posted!!

 

[Yvonne G]

Don't hold me to it, because I really don't know for sure, but I THINK it has to do with calcium deficiency as a puppy. I had some baby manouria that I raised from eggs and all of them had beaks like the one shown in this thread. The only thing I could figure was calcium def. I use a Dremmel on them about once a year and it keeps them pretty much in shape. They're still not perfect, but much better than not Dremmel'ing at all. Tomorrow I'll see if I can get some pictures for you.

 

[Hustler]

If you could find pics that would be great, I have a dremel around here somewhere with a few good bits I used to do dog nails with Ill see if that may work. In the light it looks almost clear the extention on her beak like a fingernail so I hope it wont cause any pain...
Im thinking ill take it slow and do a bit each week

 

[Yvonne G]

My tortoises' beaks looked pretty much like yours before the first time we Dremmel'd them. This is this morning, and its been appx. a year since the last time we did it: