Hi all, Walter had his vet visit which was basically an epic showcase of how much vets try to BS people. Several fine examples were: Small tortoises are like small dogs, their supposed to have underbites, like a Pomeranian. Along with; you can tell how healthy he is by the lumps on his shell... I was rather unimpressed. He also refused to grind his beak, the only thing I could get from his drastic flailing maneuver ( while he was holding Walter) is how funny it is when a tortoise poops on someone. I also changed all of Walters heat bulbs to 150 watts, which has made him much more active, he still likes his food held for him, but he eats with more gusto.
Walter's Vet Visit
- Thread starter Bow
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You need a better vet! Can any of our Canadian members suggest a competent and knowledgable one?
In the meantime, get "Walter" a cuttlebone so she can work it down for herself as much as possible...carrots are good, too
Or you could use a small wire dyke (sterilize it, 1st), if you or your BF feel confident about trimming her beak, yourself, much like you would your nails, but do it in tiny increments if you do.
I've nver tried doing it w/ a Dremel, although I've heard of others who have, so I can't advise you on that operation.
Good luck with it.
In the meantime, get "Walter" a cuttlebone so she can work it down for herself as much as possible...carrots are good, too
Or you could use a small wire dyke (sterilize it, 1st), if you or your BF feel confident about trimming her beak, yourself, much like you would your nails, but do it in tiny increments if you do.
I've nver tried doing it w/ a Dremel, although I've heard of others who have, so I can't advise you on that operation.
Good luck with it.
Terry Allan Hall said:
Walter has a cuttlebone which she is very attached to. She also has a piece of slate which she attempts to eat off of. I wouldn't be brave enough to use a dremel so close to her face, or anythings face for that matter. I've been leaving her leaves in big chunks which supposedly helps too. I'm worried about hurting her or filling to far with a nail file.
Bow said:
Can't say I blame you...before I attempted such things, I watched my vet buddy do it a couple times.
Possibly the cuttle bone and slate will work it down well enough, so long as she's getting enough to eat.
Terry Allan Hall said:
She seems to really like Bryce to hold her food, if he's willing to sit and hold a piece of green matter for 20 minutes while she considers it, then she starts eating like a crazy thing.
Bow said:
Well, isn't it nice how easily we can be trained to do our tortoises' bidding?
You can also place a couple well rounded rocks into the enclosure to give them a place to actually rub and file their beaks down.... they do use the rocks for this
Yes, I have found a new reptile vet because the last one told me my 2 adult RT's were male (they are female).
And he was from our reptile list!
That sounds like a frustrating experience.
However, at least your tort is able to eat (regarding the beak), so the cuttlebone, etc., should gradually take care of it.
And he was from our reptile list!
That sounds like a frustrating experience.
However, at least your tort is able to eat (regarding the beak), so the cuttlebone, etc., should gradually take care of it.
There are some really good vets out there. Such a shame that they can be so hard to find. I'm sure every decent vet cringes when they hear a story like this. I sure cringe whenever I hear stories about bad animal trainers...
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