# Trimming my Tortoise's Shell



## HalcyonMH (Mar 21, 2011)

Hi, I've been left with my brother's tortoise while he's at university and I've noticed that the tortoise's shell has grown so that a thin, almost translucent edge of it has started to obstruct its tail. Is there a safe way to trim this back, or should I file it down or something other?


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## bikerchicspain (Mar 21, 2011)

No. You should not cut or file the shell, it will be painful to him.
If you can post a picture from the back, and a photo of his plastron (underneath)
Also what species is he?


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## Yvonne G (Mar 21, 2011)

Hi HalcyonMH:

Welcome to the forum!!

May we know your name and where you are?

I think what Yvonne meant was that *YOU* shouldn't undertake to file the shell. But yes, it can be done. You should take the tortoise to a qualified tortoise vet and ask to have the shell filed. They use a Dremmel and file the edge to shape it so the tortoise is better able to defaecate.

A tortoise's shell is similar to our fingernails. You have to know what you're doing so you don't get into the part that's living. It will bleed and it is very painful, just like your finger nail if you go down into the nail bed.


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## ALDABRAMAN (Mar 21, 2011)

Welcome, and for sure no.


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## bikerchicspain (Mar 21, 2011)

Yes yvonne, I did mean not for it to be done by a amateur, But what i was also getting at was how bad is it, and for us to get a birds eye view to assess what the shell is like..
But in a nut shell dont try and do it yourself, even i would not like to do it...


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## tortoisenerd (Mar 21, 2011)

If its what I think it is (please show a picture), its new growth, where the edges looks very thin and translucent as described. No reason for worry if its that, it will grow out, and does not need trimming. Only reason besides some sort of injury that a tort may need something trimmed is if they aren't given hard surfaces to walk and eat on...then you may see overgrown beak and/or nails, which then would be recommended to have someone experienced trim it. Shell is very different from beak & nails though. Its tail likely tucks under it so maybe it just looks to obstruct? But yes, photo please.


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## ChiKat (Mar 21, 2011)

Yes, a picture would be great!
Does it look something like this? Where the edges are kind of flared and translucent? If so, that is normal.





(I tried to find a good picture in my Photobucket but this was the best I could find, sorry.)


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## HalcyonMH (Mar 23, 2011)

Hi, yeah, as for introductions, I'm Leon, from Leicester, England. The tortoise is George, I'm not sure which species. The edges are like the picture above, but the big shell segment at the very back is tighter to the body.





this is the underside.





I'm glad that this isn't as serious as what I thought it could have been. cheers for your help so far.


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## Marty333 (Mar 23, 2011)

you can email someone the pictures and they can do it for you


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## Yvonne G (Mar 23, 2011)

Hi Leon:

Yeah, that does look like it might inhibit the tail from being able to come out. I think you should have a vet take a look at it and see if it needs to be filed.

I'm going to take a stab and say its a Hermanns.


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## franeich (Mar 23, 2011)

Shows how little I have learned I guessed russian.


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## Marty333 (Mar 23, 2011)

Im guessing a russian to


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## bikerchicspain (Mar 23, 2011)

I dont think its a Hermans, Hermans have 2 tail scutes,
Greeks have one tail scute, No spurs visible
I would say a male russian ,


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## ChiKat (Mar 23, 2011)

I can see why Yvonne thinks Hermann's, especially from the first picture.
I'm thinking an oddly shaped Russian? (Maybe even MBD?) The plastron looks all Russian to me.

Can you share more pictures with us? Maybe a top view of your tort?
Also, can you tell us more about how you care for your tortoise? Diet, enclosure, substrate, lighting/heating, etc.


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## Yvonne G (Mar 23, 2011)

Yeah, you're all probably correct, as the plastron is a dead give-away. I was going by the curved carapace. I've never seen a russian's carapace curve downward like that.


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## bikerchicspain (Mar 24, 2011)

HalcyonMH said:


> Hi, yeah, as for introductions, I'm Leon, from Leicester, England. The tortoise is George, I'm not sure which species. The edges are like the picture above, but the big shell segment at the very back is tighter to the body.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Hi Leon

I know. Leicester well, I was born in Loughborough and worked for a while in Leicester...


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