regarding nails

[big_red_tortoise]

My redfoot has grown a bit and so have his nails. The only problem is they are super sharp. I mean like needles. I tried filing them but he wont put up with it. Can you clip tortoise nails? If so, can I clip them or should I take him somewhere where they can?

Thanks!

 

[Yvonne G]

You can clip them, but have some styptic powder handy. If you don't have styptic powder, corn starch or flour will work...but not as well. Just clip a small bit off the ends of each nail. Sometimes its hard to see the line of blood inside a tortoise's nail (the quick). You don't want to clip into the quick. A very small tortoise can't lose too much blood, and a clipped quick bleeds a lot. So just clip off the very tip...that should take care of the sharpness. After he starts living outside, walking around on the hard ground and over rocks, etc. they wear down naturally.

Yvonne

 

[tortoisenerd]

Some people suggest to have the vet do it the first time so you can watch; I agree, if the vet knows what they are doing (I've heard tort nails are a little different than dogs, etc too). If you don't have a vet for him yet, you should find a qualified tort vet and get the little guy established as a patient in case you ever do have a problem, and get him looked over and tested for parasites.

Do you want to give us a picture of the nails so we can take a look? What may look long to your eyes may in fact be typical or not too bad yet. Tort nails are naturally supposed to be sharp. I agree that having hard surfaces helps. I have two slate tiles (basking and food) as well as some rocks my enclosure.