map? turtle mouth is swolen and broken

[SOMETHING TURTLE]

My turtles mouth is messed up from eating hard food. it is chipping away and part of his bottom jaw is pushed to the outside so he cant close it at all. can I file the back part to be thinner so it fits inside his mouth? I put soft food in like lunch meat, steak after dinner, and before (raw), worms, mealworms, crickets, but I have him with big gold fish and he eats the goldfish pellets. I am going to put him in his own cage to make sure he eats soft food for a while but can I fix his mouth? I have a dremmel with the rounded tip file like for fingernails. there is a white line under his chipped lips is that kind of a guide? I do not want to take him to the vet[/align]

 

[Zamric]

try feeding your goldfish flake food instead of pellets.

point of interest about goldfish.... they have no stomach and must eat 24/7 to survive. That is one reason they eat their own poo from the bottom of the tank. Alot of it is not completely digested and they can re-cycle it. Flake food is easier for them to digest and makes less poo in the bottom of your tank but you have to feed more often (2-3 times a day). I use auto-feeders in the classrooms that have goldfish. The children feed in the mornings and the auto-feeders dump a little food every 8 hours or so.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

My turtles mouth is messed up from eating hard food. it is chipping away and part of his bottom jaw is pushed to the outside so he cant close it at all. can I file the back part to be thinner so it fits inside his mouth? I put soft food in like lunch meat, steak after dinner, and before (raw), worms, mealworms, crickets, but I have him with big gold fish and he eats the goldfish pellets. I am going to put him in his own cage to make sure he eats soft food for a while but can I fix his mouth? I have a dremmel with the rounded tip file like for fingernails. there is a white line under his chipped lips is that kind of a guide? I do not want to take him to the vet[/align]

Oohhh ... sounds like a job for a vet, doesn't it?

 

[Yvonne G]

Hello there, Something Turtle:

Welcome to the Forum!!

May we know appx. where you are?

And what would you like us to call you?

Your little turtle's mouth will grow back, but in the mean time, you need to offer him foods that he doesn't have to bite off. and small pieces. And he probably could use more calcium in his diet to help the beak grow back. You can add calcium to the container that you keep the meal worms in. Don't try to mess with the mouth. Just give it a chance to grow back on its own.

 

[SOMETHING TURTLE]

first of all, I wish I knew what the first selection in "post options" is. this box I'm typing in is too big and is covering it.

you can call me Jamie, I am close to St.Louis!! woot!

if you look at the picture I posted, facing the picture on the right side, turtles left, it is swolen to the outside of its mouth. but you think it will fix itself....ok, fine, i will leave the dremmel in the closet.

 

[Kristina]

try feeding your goldfish flake food instead of pellets.

point of interest about goldfish.... they have no stomach and must eat 24/7 to survive. That is one reason they eat their own poo from the bottom of the tank. Alot of it is not completely digested and they can re-cycle it. Flake food is easier for them to digest and makes less poo in the bottom of your tank but you have to feed more often (2-3 times a day). I use auto-feeders in the classrooms that have goldfish. The children feed in the mornings and the auto-feeders dump a little food every 8 hours or so.

Not to get too off topic... But did you know that flake food loses almost all the vitamins and nutrition that it contains the second it hits the water? Also, feeding from the surface can cause serious flotation issues. There are MUCH better options... such as gel foods. Anyone that would like more info, recipes for gel foods, etc, feel free to PM me. I have fantails that are more than a decade old and more than a foot long... My credentials, lol

 

[jonathan512]

yikes =O

 

[Weda737]

Just why don't you want to go to the vet? It's a pet owners responsibility.

 

[ascott]

Your little turtle's mouth will grow back, but in the mean time, you need to offer him foods that he doesn't have to bite off. and small pieces. And he probably could use more calcium in his diet to help the beak grow back. You can add calcium to the container that you keep the meal worms in. Don't try to mess with the mouth. Just give it a chance to grow back on its own.

So agree with Yvonne

also, what a cute little turtle....

 

[SulcataSquirt]

Hi, how close are you to st.louis? I live in st.louis, south county area, how long have you hard your turtle? Jay King is a good vet off Watson rd if your willing to go, he is cheap also, when i went in he cut the bill in half just because I B.S.ed about torts and turtles with him, hes a good guy. im sure hed be will to help you out if you dont feel comportable filing on your turtles mouth, IF you do file on it remember LESS is more, only take a little at a time until its just right, Too much and you could leave a gap when his mouth wont close all the way.

 

[tortoises101]

Get him on a better diet. He'll definitely need calcium and D3, as well as freshwater snails, insects, crayfish, and turtle pellets. Mazuri and Reptomin are good brands, and if you can't afford the Mazuri Turtle Pellets then get the Mazuri Croc Pellets or Aquamax 500. Steak is a no-no and so is lunch meat. Steak has a lot of saturated fats and lunch meat has a lot of sodium.