Hi :) I need a bit of help with my new tortoise, Tortimer!

[Tortimer]

Hi, my sisters and I are quite new on how to raise a tortoise. Our neighbor just gave us one, as she did not want him, and we're having a bit of trouble. I researched how to take care of one on so many different websites, I kind of understand what to feed him, how his habitat should be, etc.
(He's a Russian tortoise, and we're in California, USA)

However, he seems to bleed quite a bit. The first day we got him, we fed him, the. He exercised, took a nap, and woke up. Then he started biting his tongue out of nowhere. Then it started bleeding quite a bit, so we wiped it with a cotton swab and he stopped freaking out. The second day, he did the same - randomly biting his tongue so we did the same. Now today, the third day, we started feeding him by hand then we stopped and let him eat himself. But he bit his tongue while he was bleeding we wiped him again, and now he's under his little burrow sleeping.

It seems whenever he eats, he bites his tongue. We didn't get to feed him barely anything today! Can anyone help? I'm really worried.

 

[Yvonne G]

This is a totally out of the ordinary occurrence. Tortoises are very good at getting their tongue out of the way when they bite down. This tells me that there may be something wrong with the beak. Since the previous owner didn't want the tortoise, it may not have been receiving the best of care. Can we see a picture of the beak to see if there's something wrong with it?

Oh...and Welcome to the Forum!

 

[Tom]

We need a pic. That would help. This is very unusual. Normally people just leave a pile of food and let them eat, or they graze on their own outside.

 

[Tortimer]

Here it is, thank you.

 

[LeopardTortLover]

Seems normal to me. But wait for a more experienced opinion. Maybe it's a mental thing? Or something irritating his tongue?

 

[Tortimer]

I really don't understand what's going on, and I'm worried if this will go on for another few days. The previous owner, she's a nice person (just didn't care for tortoises), told us she fed him 1-2 a week.. In the care pamphlet she gave us, it said we have to feed him daily. He barely got sun either.. Is this causing the biting of his tongue? I don't understand HOW it would, could it possibly be? And should I take him to a vet? Our parents seem reluctant to take us, but if it's serious, I'm sure we can convince them to take him.

 

[wellington]

Can you ask the previous owner if this happened with her? Can you tell if he is biting it as he is trying to get food or as he is chewing the food? Does his tongue stick out of his mouth at all when he is just resting or walking around. Doesn't look like it in the pics. Are you sure there isn't something in his mouth that is poking as he tries to eat? Does it only happen when eating weeds/grasses or if you feed him a softened tort pellet food, does it still happen?

 

[Tortimer]

As soon as it happened the first day, I called her, and she said it had never happened. We wondered if maybe it did happen, but she was just never there to watch him, but as of what we know, it has never happened. He seems to bite his tongue only when he eats his food. It seems as if his tongue is overlapping his teeth as he bites down. His tongue usually is never out, from what we've seen. When we gave him the cabbage the previous owner offered us, he ate it fine, took a nap, woke up later and bit. The other two times was when he ate the Romaine Lettuce. We tried giving him something a little harder to bite to see if it would change anything, so we gave him broccoli. He didn't eat much so we switched to the lettuce and it happened. I'm pretty positive there's nothing else in his mouth when he eats.

 

[wellington]

Not sure if this will do anything or not. But try feeding him on a flat stone/rock if it still happens, try feeding him on a paper plate that you sit on top of a soft cushy place. Also try not piling the food and then try piling the food. Also try tiny pieces so maybe he won't have to use his tongue so much. I'm just grabbing at straws here trying to find a way the poor thing can eat without biting and bleeding, also would possibly save you a vet visit. Try all the above and see if any work. Good luck. If nothing works, I would suggest a vet visit.

 

[Tortimer]

I'll try again, thanks but I think it's how he actually eats the food not how it's placed.

On the second day, because we were actually scared of him biting his tongue again, we hand fed him, and he was doing perfectly fine, gave him plenty of lettuce. When he went to sleep for a couple hours, we left him alone, and let him just get his rest. Then, we heard him wake up. He climbed out of his basking area over to where the remaining lettuce was. We had placed it on a flat rock for him to get to. When he bit down, he missed the lettuce, and his tongue started bleeding again.

When that happened, he freaked out a bit, rubbing his head against his forehand. As soon as I saw the bleeding, I gently wiped away the blood and he stopped struggling. We then washed off his tongue, and he went back to sleeping.

 

[wellington]

Possibly it keeps bleeding from the very first bite. Like its not completely healed, so easily bleeds if nicked a little. Maybe try just hand feeding for a week or so, long enough that the tongue should be healed, then try letting him eat on his own.

 

[Tom]

As they go through life their beaks tend to chip away and continually regrow. He has a jagged little edge there along the front of the beak. That is probably the trouble spot. It will smooth out over time. I wouldn't worry to much about it.

Now you need to research the proper diet for russians. Hint: Its not lettuce, cabbage or broccoli.

 

[Tortimer]

Okay, so one of my sisters is trying to hand feed him now. He's a bit lethargic today though. Thanks for the help, hope this works.

---

Haha, okay, thanks Tom. Another, minor question though. When my neighbor put up the poster for him, she put 'Free Desert Tortoise' but when she gave us to him, she handed us a 'How to care for a Russian Tortoise' pamphlet. We've just assumed now he's a russian tortoise. Would their diets be similar?

 

[kjr153]

Is it possible his tongue is swollen?

 

[BeeBee*BeeLeaves]

Fed 1-2 times a week? I am wondering if when you first got it, it was so hungry and famished that it bit its tongue somehow and then it just kept getting bit the next feedings because the swelling was in the way of the eating. A piece of slate to put the food on is a good idea. You can get that where they sell tile or rocks. It will help file his beak. TFO, of course, search and read all the threads, lotsa stuff ... and russiantortoise.net is also helpful.

 

[pugsandkids]

I'm so pleased that you and your sisters have him now. He's obviously in caring and compassionate hands. Our forum members are very knowledgable, and will steer you in the right direction

 

[Tortimer]

Ahh, yeah, it's probably swollen and all that now - at least I hope and its not bad. Thank you, everyone!

 

[lynnedit]

Why don't you post a couple of pictures of the tortoise, that way you can make sure you know exactly what kind of tortoise you have. For now, there is overlap with Desert and Russian tortoise diets, but then we could post the correct links for you.
You can upload to Photobucket (on that site, click on the IMG and then paste into your thread), or Tiny pic.

What you describe is very unusual, so it is possible it is just a cut that needs to heal. Also, have you been soaking your new tortoise in shallow warm water? This might help the tongue to heal, and with the previous care, your tortoise may be a bit dehydrated. Try this every day for a week then every few days.
Good work!

 

[Tortimer]

We'll try soaking him tomorrow morning - we didn't know anything about warm water, so thank you! We're also going to bring him out for some exercise. Thanks everyone for the helpful advice !

 

[BeeBee*BeeLeaves]

Soaks are the best. Warm water, under the basking light. You can also, due to what lynnedit pointed out about the former care, do the soaks with baby food in them so that your tortoise soaks in some nutrients that way. Squash or carrot is good. Mix it with the warm water and let your tortoise have some spa time under the heat. When I first got mine they were so stressed. I left them in there half an hour. Really helped. Works wonders. Read about it here on TFO so do a search for more reading. Yvonne suggests it and she is a tortoise goddess! : )