# TWEAK YOUR BEAKâ€¦.HOW TO INFO



## N2TORTS (Mar 11, 2013)

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TWEAK YOUR BEAKâ€¦.HOW TO INFO
In some cases your tortoisesâ€™ beak may need to be trimmed. This procedure may need the assistance of a helper with a â€œsqueamishâ€ and or larger animal. The most important part is â€¦ YOU have to be careful not to trim too much!
The â€œ Beakâ€ or front part -upper lip is made out of Keratin , pretty much the same as what (human) fingernails areâ€¦. So they grow constantly. When trimming you have to be careful not to trim too much as there is blood supply to the â€œbaseâ€ of the beak. A nice thing to have on hand is silver nitrate sticks , or some other forms of sterile topical â€œstop bleedâ€ in case you nick a vessel.
I use a small Dremel (hobby/craft rotary tool), with a 90* angle attachment that provides a nice flat straight approach as well as a better view to gently grind off a tortoise beak's rather it be extra growth and or split beaks ( common in larger species).
Most tortoises aren't to cooperative when it comes to this timely event â€¦. they are very strongâ€¦â€¦ and can be stubborn and have their shells to hide in.
Getting your tortoise to poke its head out of his shell in some cases takes longer than actually trimming its beakâ€¦..while other tortâ€™s this procedure doesnâ€™t tend to be too bothersome and if your lucky the tortoise remains somewhat calm.
Here is one of my adult female CherryHeads who always seems to have exponential growth on her beak giving her an overbite. Spring is here time for a trimâ€¦. 

Beforeâ€¦â€¦.





















After â€¦â€¦


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## mainey34 (Mar 11, 2013)

Thank you for that lesson..I know that time is near...


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## Torts4Life! (Mar 11, 2013)

I use a small dremel like tool as well. I'm also a dog owner and I have one of those Pedi-Paw trimmers and I take off the plastic shield and it works just like a dremel and is much quicker than using a file. I've also found that it is easier with two people. One holding the tortoise and when they stick their head out putting two fingers on either side of their neck to keep them from going back into their shell and the other person trims with the dremel. Quick and easy to keep their beak nice and trimmed!!


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## N2TORTS (Mar 11, 2013)

mainey34 said:


> Thank you for that lesson..I know that time is near...



You betcha C'....:shy:


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## tortadise (Mar 11, 2013)

Fantastic JD. A lot of people have been asking for this. Maybe it should be stickied.


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## Thalatte (Mar 11, 2013)

Thanks for the pics! I need to trim my wood turtles.


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## wellington (Mar 11, 2013)

I hope I never have to do this. However, I love this. Great visual. Thank you. Great jog on all of it.


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## N2TORTS (Mar 11, 2013)

tortadise said:


> Fantastic JD. A lot of people have been asking for this. Maybe it should be stickied.


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## wellington (Mar 11, 2013)

wellington said:


> I hope I never have to do this. However, I love this. Great visual. Thank you. Great jog on all of it.



Oops, great job, not jog lol


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## mightymizz (Mar 11, 2013)

Thanks for sharing!!

I just have a feeling, my torts would go into the "I'm dying" mode and never stick their head out..IF it is anything like trying to force feed a baby antibiotics then this would be super tough feat...

To feed antibiotics in the mouth, I literally had to wait to pinch his head so he couldnt retreat fully into the shell. Are more mature torts more likely to keep their head out while a dremel is working on their beaks? Or are you holding pretty tight?

Thanks again!


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## CtTortoiseMom (Mar 11, 2013)

Love it, thanks so much for the step by step & pics! 
+1 for this being a sticky.


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## N2TORTS (Mar 11, 2013)

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Actually it all comes from experience â€¦like anything else and knowing the limits of your strength, correct grip, placement and of course realizing the stress the animal must feelâ€¦.but being confident in yourself. Itâ€™s similar to snake catching in the wild ( you donâ€™t dare hesitate, once you establish the get go) or in another case trimming my Cockatooâ€™s wings and trimming her nails . In her case â€¦.you **** her off - she WILL take your finger offâ€¦.in 2 seconds. Iâ€™m not as confident with the tooâ€™ as I am with the torts , for the fear when I grab her behind the head I feel like Iâ€™m going to break her neckâ€¦.but if not â€œtightâ€ enough she will turn her head and â€œ Zapâ€ you â€¦Also I firmly believe the more this is done with the same animal, they are less and less to become such a stress case when the time comes. For the simple answer â€¦ no Iâ€™m not holding on her head that tight at all , she is one of the â€œeasierâ€ ones to work with.





For applications needing meds I use rounded off chop sticks to help open the torts mouthâ€¦..not my finger ..â€¦.. ^4


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## For Love of Everything Shell (Mar 12, 2013)

I will be attempting this "adventure" in the next few days...  Bob's beak is a little too long! But I am kinda worried he will be mad at me and won't want to hang out with me anymore!


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## Yellow Turtle (Mar 12, 2013)

Nice JD. I will use this as reference whenever the needs arise. Thanks


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## Pokeymeg (Mar 12, 2013)

Thanks for posting!!


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## biochemnerd808 (Mar 20, 2013)

Great post! Thank you for the visual, too - I was always wondering which attachment is used. 
I don't think I'll attempt this on any small tortoises (Russians, Greeks) any time soon, but a larger redfoot or something larger, I think I could do it.


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## ALDABRAMAN (Apr 30, 2013)

*Great thread JD!*


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## jjsull33 (Apr 30, 2013)

Thanks for the lesson, my female's beak grows like that too and I might try this on my own this time.


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## meghaffer (Oct 17, 2013)

Our newest pet arrived last week. A Russian tortoise whose previous owners weren't terribly fastidious in diet or shell and beak care. I'm thinking her beak is way too long for me to tackle as I've never had this problem with our turtles and have zero experience. But once we get her to the vet, I think I can maintain it. Thanks for the great pictures!


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## pascualthetortoise (Dec 19, 2013)

Hello! I have a large 18 year old sulcata. We got him last year so we are still new with this. I noticed his beak isn't very smooth. It has two cracks in it that seem to have gotten more pronounced over the last year. Do you have any advice? Do I trim the longer parts or somehow fill in the chips/cracks?


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## pam (Dec 19, 2013)

Great job  Thank you


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## littleginsu (Jan 15, 2014)

Thanks! I know my turtle needs her beak trimmed/filed, but I am going to have to take her to a doctor to do it because it really hurts when she closes her shell on my fingers!


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## N2TORTS (Jan 16, 2014)

pascualthetortoise said:


> Hello! I have a large 18 year old sulcata. We got him last year so we are still new with this. I noticed his beak isn't very smooth. It has two cracks in it that seem to have gotten more pronounced over the last year. Do you have any advice? Do I trim the longer parts or somehow fill in the chips/cracks?



Trim the longer parts you see present. The beak itself should rebuild itself over time ( actually grow out) , but you may want to consult your veterinarian if the beak is growing back abnormally(this maybe from a diet or mineral lack ). A tortoise beak will usually be worn away naturally by eating on a stone or flat rock, or by gnawing on cuttlebone. 

J~


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## tyrone (Feb 14, 2014)

Our school tortoise's beak looks longer than when we got him, does it need trimming?
Do all breeds need trimming like the one at the start of this post, right back like a top lip?


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## tyrone (Feb 14, 2014)

Our school tortoise's beak looks longer than when we got him. He seems to use it to pull bits off his food. Do all species need trimming back as in your pics, just like a top lip?
We've tried feeding him on a stone, but the food falls off and once it's got soil on it, he's not interested.
I'm trying to post a pic, I added it as an attachment. That's showing in my profile, but no post?


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## Cowboy_Ken (Feb 14, 2014)

Tyrone,
Your picture showed up in your post before your last one. I believe that like fingernails, the beak continues to grow in regard to all tortoises and turtles. Some specie may have harder beaks that grow slower than others, but I'm guessing on that.


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## Yvonne G (Feb 14, 2014)

Hey, Tyrone: Your tortoise really should be taken to a vet and have his beak trimmed. The top beak is too long, excessively so. The bottom beak was probably also too long, which caused it to break off. It broke off very short, and probably was pretty painful when it happened. You don't want the top beak to break off and cause pain.


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## tyrone (Feb 17, 2014)

Yvonne G said:


> Hey, Tyrone: Your tortoise really should be taken to a vet and have his beak trimmed. The top beak is too long, excessively so. The bottom beak was probably also too long, which caused it to break off. It broke off very short, and probably was pretty painful when it happened. You don't want the top beak to break off and cause pain.



Thank you, will sort that then. I can't see anything wrong with the bottom beak, are you just guessing?


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## T33's Torts (Feb 17, 2014)

Tyrone, imagine your fingernail growing out REALLY long. Like 6 inches. Then its snaps off!!! It snaps LOW.. Into where the nerve is. Thats what happened when his bottom beak broke.


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## tyrone (Feb 19, 2014)

What I'm asking is, why have you got it into your head that his bottom beak is broken? There's no sign of damage there that I can see?


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## claire.petrie.7 (Mar 15, 2014)

Thanks for this I was just wondering how to do this. I have a pedi paw al try this tomorrow. I hope my tortoise doesn't fall out with me and not make an appearance for a few days x


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## yillt (Jun 5, 2014)

Can you use a nail clipper.


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## dmmj (Jun 5, 2014)

yillt said:


> Can you use a nail clipper.


yes you can, finger nail file can also be used.


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## Yourlocalpoet (Jun 6, 2014)

tyrone said:


> What I'm asking is, why have you got it into your head that his bottom beak is broken? There's no sign of damage there that I can see?



The bottom looks pretty non existent to me.


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## j156ghs (Jun 6, 2014)

On my computer the last half (probably photos) comes up as gibberish and a series of a few


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## Reptilelove (Aug 4, 2014)

I'm going to need to do this soon


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## smarch (Sep 24, 2014)

Alright its getting to be time to think about doing this the first time. Nanks beak isn't excessively long like a huge nose hanging down, and i'd never let it get to that point. I don't want to start a new thread on this since this is here and its exactly what I need, but the pictures to show me how in the original post no longer show up and I'm left with questions on it. I have a little nail Dremel with the perfect attatchment to use, but I have no idea how to do it with the pictures missing, do you have to prop their mouth open to it doesn't file on their lower jaw? I know how to hold his head out provided I can do it alone hold him in place and work on the beak all at once. But this is a VERY skiddish tort so it will not be easy, but I'm hoping to be able to do it myself and avoid the extra stress of a vet trip and trimming, plus since I plan to have him forever and to have more its something I may as well learn to self do. Didn't know if anyone could see the pictures and try to repost them or post some of your own so I can understand how to actually hold and put the dremel to the beak. 
Thanks in advance!


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## Anyfoot (Jan 5, 2015)

N2TORTS said:


> undefined
> 
> 
> TWEAK YOUR BEAKâ€¦.HOW TO INFO
> ...




Will it be full price for a seat on the plane for my tort when it needs a trim. lol I don't fancy doing that.


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## Anyfoot (Jan 5, 2015)

Are there things to do that can help prevent an overgrown beak in the 1st place. Excellent demonstration.


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## N2TORTS (Jan 5, 2015)

A piece of flagstone within your set up ....using it as a "service plate" will help out. Also try and keep a piece of cuttlebone within the enclosure at all times as well.This will provide your tort with calcium intake as well as honing the beak.
JD~


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## Anyfoot (Jan 5, 2015)

N2TORTS said:


> A piece of flagstone within your set up ....using it as a "service plate" will help out. Also try and keep a piece of cuttlebone within the enclosure at all times as well.This will provide your tort with calcium intake as well as honing the beak.
> JD~


Got both that you suggested, I had one with an overgrown beak, I was going to wait until she tamed up a bit before I tackled that beak, however feeding her on a stone plate and providing cuttlefish seems to have corrected it.


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## Anyfoot (Jan 5, 2015)

Iny


N2TORTS said:


> A piece of flagstone within your set up ....using it as a "service plate" will help out. Also try and keep a piece of cuttlebone within the enclosure at all times as well.This will provide your tort with calcium intake as well as honing the beak.
> JD~


 In the wild would they bite down on ripe nuts. For example Brazil nuts.


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## fanofthedog (Feb 15, 2015)

You are a SAINT. Thanks for posting this.


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## HotdogKnight (Feb 17, 2015)

What are the motions for trimming the beak of a yearling/young tort? I'm still handling mine like he's made of glass, I can't imagine having to hold him to file his beak.


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## Sh3wulf (Apr 2, 2015)

Thank you for this post. Benny started clicking and looking at this I can see he beak is going to need filing. Is there a way to file the lower part of the beak to prevent breakage, or is that a task a vet needs to perform?


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## TriciaStringer (May 8, 2018)

I did it! I got up the gumption to tackle my 30 pound sulcata's beak all by myself. I just used some toenail clippers. It isn't perfect, but I did get most off. He just had three lines going down, very weird. He eats on a stone now, so he should be good. He got a treat afterwards because he was so awesome. He just climbed in my lap and never tucked his head in. I need to finish it with a nail file, but so proud of myself.


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