Coconut oil and nail file

[simeontherussiantort]

Hi! I have had a ton of questions lately Simeon is from Petsmart (sadly) he has a defect in his shell, it's very minor but it's there. His shell also flakes on occasion when it gets very dry. I have very low humidity but I'm going to dampen my Coco coir this weekend when I add another layer. I was wondering if I can moisturize his shell with a very thin layer of coconut oil. I have done this before, I gave him a bath at night and moisturized his shell, then in the morning I gave him another bath to clean the coconut oil off. I don't know if I should do it again or not. I would like to do it tonight. Also, can I file his nails. I have put multiple large slates for him to naturally file his nails throughout his cage, they don't seem to be working. Can I use a nail file and file down his nails- they are over 1/2 an inch long

 

[Sara G.]

Pics of your tort and of the enclosure would be very helpful for us. Plus I love seeing torts.
If you use coconut oil, make sure you get the unrefined organic stuff.
And yes it's okay to use it. I put it on my tort's shell roughly once a month, though I haven't done it this month yet.
Just put on a thin layer after your torts bath, let it sit for a little bit (I usually only let it sit for 5 minutes or so by you could wait longer) and then just wipe it off with a cloth.

 

[Sara G.]

If the nails are curling then you could use a nail clipper and give them a trim. A nail file would be okay too, but torts seem to have surprisingly long nails! Like it's really strange to look at. And I'm kinda guessing you have a Russian, though a confirmation would be awesome, and they seem to have long front claws because they like to dig. So your torts nails might not be as long as you think they are.

 

[Sara G.]

Oops, just reread your name and saw he is a Russian tort.

 

[simeontherussiantort]

Pics of your tort and of the enclosure would be very helpful for us. Plus I love seeing torts.
If you use coconut oil, make sure you get the unrefined organic stuff.
And yes it's okay to use it. I put it on my tort's shell roughly once a month, though I haven't done it this month yet.
Just put on a thin layer after your torts bath, let it sit for a little bit (I usually only let it sit for 5 minutes or so by you could wait longer) and then just wipe it off with a cloth.

How do I post pictures? I'm new...

 

[Yvonne G]

Russian tortoises' nails do look a bit long, but it's completely normal for the species.

 

[Linhdan Nguyen]

Yes you can file their nails with a nail filer . Ive cut my russian tortoises long nails with nail clippers but you have to be careful when youre cutting them.
But as Yvonne & Pearly mentioned, russians do have naturally long nails & they are diggers

 

[Kasia]

Hi! I have had a ton of questions lately Simeon is from Petsmart (sadly) he has a defect in his shell, it's very minor but it's there. His shell also flakes on occasion when it gets very dry. I have very low humidity but I'm going to dampen my Coco coir this weekend when I add another layer. I was wondering if I can moisturize his shell with a very thin layer of coconut oil. I have done this before, I gave him a bath at night and moisturized his shell, then in the morning I gave him another bath to clean the coconut oil off. I don't know if I should do it again or not. I would like to do it tonight. Also, can I file his nails. I have put multiple large slates for him to naturally file his nails throughout his cage, they don't seem to be working. Can I use a nail file and file down his nails- they are over 1/2 an inch long

Give him something to wear those nails down. Put stones into it's enclosure. That should help. Let him climb a lot . If they don't visibly influence the way he walks they don't need a trim. Some soaks, good diet and natural sun should help on the shell Spoil him rotten