Does my Russian tortoise need a beak trim?

Timmythetort8

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My Russian tortoise got a beak trim about 5 months ago. Does he need another one or can I wait a little longer? His beak length currently is not impacting eating, pulling his head back in, or anything else. And for future how can I tell when his beak needs to be trimmed? He was in the bath during the picture so his beak looks pretty wet.
 

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Ink

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Yes. Small amount at a time
 

Tom

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My Russian tortoise got a beak trim about 5 months ago. Does he need another one or can I wait a little longer? His beak length currently is not impacting eating, pulling his head back in, or anything else. And for future how can I tell when his beak needs to be trimmed? He was in the bath during the picture so his beak looks pretty wet.
Yes it does, but the bigger question is why is this happening? It shouldn't be happening. You need to re-assess your housing and care strategies. This usually happens when the enclosure is too small, wrong diet, lack of UV, etc... In your climate, a Russian should be able to live outside most of every year in a large enclosure with a decent shelter.
 

The_Four_Toed_Edward

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Yes it does, but the bigger question is why is this happening? It shouldn't be happening. You need to re-assess your housing and care strategies. This usually happens when the enclosure is too small, wrong diet, lack of UV, etc... In your climate, a Russian should be able to live outside most of every year in a large enclosure with a decent shelter.
I agree with Tom, that looks like a lot of growth for just five months.
 

Timmythetort8

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Yes it does, but the bigger question is why is this happening? It shouldn't be happening. You need to re-assess your housing and care strategies. This usually happens when the enclosure is too small, wrong diet, lack of UV, etc... In your climate, a Russian should be able to live outside most of every year in a large enclosure with a decent shelter.
When I took him to the vet for his previous trim the vet said that he is a bit small for his shell which could be caused by many factors including genetic deformity and said that his growing beak might be caused by this. I don't know if this is correct though as I know that this forum says that many reptile vets don't know much about tortoises.
 

The_Four_Toed_Edward

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When I took him to the vet for his previous trim the vet said that he is a bit small for his shell which could be caused by many factors including genetic deformity and said that his growing beak might be caused by this. I don't know if this is correct though as I know that this forum says that many reptile vets don't know much about tortoises.
I don't think that the stunted growth and beak growth are connected (at least yet). There are so many reasons more common than a genetic deformity. I can't comment on the liability of this specific vet but have you ruled out all the other possibilities?
 

The_Four_Toed_Edward

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Also, if you are worried about his growth, could you send us a picture of his shell from the top. What is his carapace length and weight? Have you kept track of his weight gain?
 

Timmythetort8

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When I took him to the vet for his previous trim the vet said that he is a bit small for his shell which could be caused by many factors including genetic deformity and said that his growing beak might be caused by this. I don't know if this is correct though as I know that this forum says that many reptile vets don't know much about tortoises.
 

Timmythetort8

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Also, if you are worried about his growth, could you send us a picture of his shell from the top. What is his carapace length and weight? Have you kept track of his weight gain?

The vet says that his shell is only slightly smaller and doesn't affect his wellbeing at all so I am not worried. I don't know his exact length but I know he weighs 390 grams. I don't believe he is overweight as he doesn't have the fat near his shoulders and is not coming out of his shell like overweight tortoises
 

The_Four_Toed_Edward

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The vet says that his shell is only slightly smaller and doesn't affect his wellbeing at all so I am not worried. I don't know his exact length but I know he weighs 390 grams. I don't believe he is overweight as he doesn't have the fat near his shoulders and is not coming out of his shell like overweight tortoises
I don't think that he is overweight either. I was just wondering, if you are worried about his growth, has his weight gain been consistent?
 

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