Help with filing sharp edges

[Krista S]

Hello,

My Hermann’s tortoise has some very sharp edges on his shell that are starting to cause me some concern. Over the last few months the transparent edges are starting to protrude out more and more on the scutes up near his head and near his back legs. You can already see in the picture with the arrow that he took a nice little piece of skin off his head yesterday. Thankfully there was no bleeding. As he’s gotten bigger he’s a lot more rambunctious and likes to find trouble wherever possible, so I’d like to fix this before it becomes a serious problem. I don’t want to hurt him, so I am curious to know if it will hurt him for me file these edges back? What is the best thing I can use to do this? Is there a proper method to doing this? Any guidance, tips or advice is very appreciated.

 

[Cathie G]

Wow I don't really know what to tell you about this except maybe a fingernail type file. I have a little battery operated device for my fingernails that will file my fingernails pretty quickly but not my skin. Something like that may make them a little less sharp without doing to much all at once. That's something for the experts. Good luck ?

 

[harrythetortoise]

I am curious to know about this too, as I have noticed those "transparent" edges on my tortoise as well. So far they don't seem to bother him but I want to know if I need to do something to prevent future scraping.

 

[Cathie G]

I am curious to know about this too, as I have noticed those "transparent" edges on my tortoise as well. So far they don't seem to bother him but I want to know if I need to do something to prevent future scraping.

I am curious about that too. My tortoise is older probably so I've never seen that.?

 

[Krista S]

*Bump*

 

[Cathie G]

*Bump*

Ask YavonneG. Or Tom. I wouldn't want to say to file it a little because it's new growth but maybe the tortoise is young and like teenagers body parts. One part growing at a faster speed then another.

 

[zovick]

*Bump*

That clear or transparent area is very similar to a human fingernail. You can use a nail file to round off the sharp edge. It will not hurt the tortoise unless you go all the way from the transparent area into the colored area which has bone under it.

 

[Krista S]

That clear or transparent area is very similar to a human fingernail. You can use a nail file to round off the sharp edge. It will not hurt the tortoise unless you go all the way from the transparent area into the colored area which has bone under it.

Thank you so much! I really appreciate you sharing this information. I am glad it won’t hurt him. I know it’ll p*ss him off, but that is nothing new and something I can deal with.

 

[zovick]

Thank you so much! I really appreciate you sharing this information. I am glad it won’t hurt him. I know it’ll p*ss him off, but that is nothing new and something I can deal with.

You are welcome!

 

[Cathie G]

Thank you so much! I really appreciate you sharing this information. I am glad it won’t hurt him. I know it’ll p*ss him off, but that is nothing new and something I can deal with

Sorry I somehow interrupted this but I was really happy to see an answer that made sense to me also.?

 

[Krista S]

Sorry I somehow interrupted this but I was really happy to see an answer that made sense to me also.?

You didn’t interrupt anything. I always value and appreciate your comments. ?

 

[Cathie G]

You didn’t interrupt anything. I always value and appreciate your comments. ?

I was really happy to see zovick answer. It's kinda what I thought but I don't have any experience in that to say it. It always makes me feel a lot less worried about my tortoise if my instincts are correct.?

 

[Krista S]

I was really happy to see zovick answer. It's kinda what I thought but I don't have any experience in that to say it. It always makes me feel a lot less worried about my tortoise if my instincts are correct.?

I feel the exact same way. I don’t like making assumptions when it comes to Dozer’s care. I really appreciate that we have this platform where we can get the experts to chime in. It’s an added feel good bonus if we find our gut instinct was the right one. ?

 

[William Lee Kohler]

I've never done this on any of my young tortoises. These wear down naturally in time both in nature and in captivity and we should not need to intervene. I've never seen it cause a problem with mine.

 

[Krista S]

I've never done this on any of my young tortoises. These wear down naturally in time both in nature and in captivity and we should not need to intervene. I've never seen it cause a problem with mine.

It’s good you’ve never had this problem with your tortoises. My tortoise has hurt his head twice already, so I feel more comfortable trying to at least make it not so sharp. I don’t want his little head to be the thing that naturally wears it down over time.

 

[Sa Ga]

It’s good you’ve never had this problem with your tortoises. My tortoise has hurt his head twice already, so I feel more comfortable trying to at least make it not so sharp. I don’t want his little head to be the thing that naturally wears it down over time.

Yeah, I hear that worn-down tortoise heads are not recommended by 9 out of 10 tortoise vets (and the 10th vet is just bitter bc he really just wanted to be a professional softball player).

Ok, ok... here's a thought too: you know those nail files that have "polishing" surfaces? (Usually they have 3-4 different surfaces on the file. Some are literally 3-D rectangle shaped, and some are just like a thicker, larger regular nail file.) Get one of those and instead of having to file it down SO much, you may be able to use the coarser part to get just the point rounded (instead of completely filed down) and then use the finest surface (polishing) to make it really smooth, so though it still is sticking out, it is smooth and won't scratch/catch his little noggin. (And may be less filing over all--which makes 10/10 cranky torts ?!)