Split Upper Mandible

[webskipper]

I have a 3 year old that has a split between the beak and the next plate.

Is this something that will heal on its own or can a vet fiberglass/crazy glue it?

It's like a space between your teeth. She eats a lot so bmi worry about health.

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I have a 3 year old that has a split between the beak and the next plate.

Is this something that will heal on its own or can a vet fiberglass/crazy glue it?

It's like a space between your teeth.

She eats a lot so I'm not worried about health.

 

[Yvonne G]

One of my Manouria has this problem. His upper beak flares out and if I don't keep it trimmed it splits up the middle (and it is painful to him-he screams). The only way I've found to help it grow back together is to keep the beak trimmed so that there is no outward pressure on it. The new growth comes in in one piece, but if the lower part is flared as its growing in, it splits again.

Can we see pictures of your tortoise's upper beak so we can make a guess as to why this happened?

 

[webskipper]

Beak trim?

A pet shop did that to a cockatiel I had and he went into cardiac arrest.

Ill get a pic tonight. She gets food stuck in there and isn't scared of my hands cleaning her beak.

I don't feed anything without cleaning seeds.

I was using an 18" terra cotta planter dish as a feeding dish to hold all the greens.

Took it away last month and am feeding on the flagstone under the lamps where it's warmer.

My 3 Greeks are scheduled to hibernate in a few weeks. I guess not now.

Did you trim yours back with a nail clipper?

 

[Yvonne G]

No, this is a big tortoise with an "iron" beak. We've had to use a metal attachment on the Dremmel. But don't worry about a trim until we can see what you're talking about.

 

[webskipper]

Close up and a clean face looks ok.

She gets up before the others and eats first so my guess is she's full before having to scrape her beak on the flagstone.

So does she need a mandi (term?) and a mani?

Vet or no vet for this?

Thanks!

 

[Yvonne G]

Her problem is the sides of the beak plus the tip of the beak. Normally the upper beak will come down just ever so slightly over the outside of the lower beak. Yours really needs those sides trimmed. You can get away with leaving the front tip, as that will be filed down when eating on a rough surface, but the sides are pretty bad.

I understand that this is a different type tortoise, but the beak should look similar to this one:

http://www.deserttortoise.org/answeringquestions/chapter5.html

Put your GOOGLE search engine on "images" and type in "close up of tortoise's beak"

 

[webskipper]

Aw, I knew that was coming. The other 2 have normal formed mandibles.

Well, someone else or the will have to do it so she won't be mad at me.

Thanks Yvonne for your help.

 

[Yvonne G]

It's always best to have the vet do this type of thing first time, and show you how so you can do it IF there's a next time.

 

[webskipper]

Speedi got her mandi. Its a dark photo but shows the lunch hour cosmetic work.

She also got an excellent rating from the herp vet.

Major recommendation was to add untreated soil to the cage somehow.

Apparently reptiles get their probiotics from dirt, mammals get it from their moms.