Hey everyone. Recently, after realizing that tortoises likely needed their nails clipped too, I began to look into doing so. I came across one thread that mentioned that Russian Tortoise nails were naturally long, but I was wondering if there was a metric of some sort to tell if they are too long and need to be trimmed. Likewise, as their beaks may need to be trimmed, I was wondering the same thing about breaks. As of now, there's only one piece of slate in his enclosure, as I made a severely misinformed decision as to how big his habitat needed to be (I'm working on upgrading that by the way.), and I feed him on one of those hard, plastic reptile food bowls. The substrate is cypress mulch, so I'm not sure if that's going to wear his nails down. Thanks in advance for any advice!
Russian Tortoise Nail and Beak Trimming Length
Try feeding him on a piece of slate instead of the plastic bowl. Also if you post photos of his beak and nails we can say wether he needs a trim. I recently trimmed my first tortoise beak and it wasn't difficult but there are some things to know first. If you decide to do it yourself I could give you some pointers.
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Like @LaLaP said
Slate, a small cement pad, terra cottage plate or an overturned ceramic tile. Rough side up can be helpful.
If you feed on a rough surface it can help with beak maintenance and by walking over it again and again, the nails will stay in check.
Sorry to bring up a rather old thread. Here's the pictures of Geode. If you need more to get a better idea, just let me know! And I just now realized that it looks like his beak is cracked in the leftmost picture, but I checked and it's just the lighting, so no need to worry! I'm going to try to get a hold of a piece of slate sometime soon so he can have a better feeding tray, and I'll stick a couple more in his new habitat when I finally finish it. And I'm more than happy to hear any tips regarding trimming nails or beaks!
Wow, better late than never!
Don't worry, his beak / nails aren't that overgrown. I've seen much worse. The slate will be a great touch!
I agree. That's nothing a slate or tile won't take care of. He's a handsome fella 
