Cracked Mouth

Javsco

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Oct 7, 2020
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Dublin
Hi, all. Need some learned opinions on the state of my Russian Tortoise's beak/mouth.

Recently we've noticed that the beak area beneath his eye on either side has been chipped away, and it has me extremely worried, especially in this pandemic time where travelling the distance required to get to the exotic pet vet is prohibited by travel bans.

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Meet Alduin. Now these aren't the best photos, a little blurry especially in the second photo, however you can more or less make out the missing parts. They're very close to his eyes. Now, this is a tort who is accident prone. He has an overgrown shell due to improper shop handling, he made his claws loose and bleed very slightly from trying to climb sheer walls every moment of every day and the photo also shows his eyes are now a little white around the edges, so he's going to be getting more frequent baths. Please note that the green mess in the shots is the residue of his pellet food which, while I did my best to scrape away, I partly left to highlight that it oozes out of the sides of his mouth now.

It also should be noted that small fights have recently broken out with his brother Dovahkiin, biting and shell smashing some of the two attacks used, and he's started attacking his own reflection wherever he sees it. The cracks could very well be battle damage. Regardless of the cause, I need to know if this kind of damage is something to be as concerned about as I already am, or if so long as I keep an eye on it the beak will heal.

Note, his bro is kept in the exact same conditions, tortoise table, UV light, heat lamp, dirt, tortoise hide, a bath every week, feed five or six days a week, and does not exhibit the sheer amount of problems this little devil does. Its very concerning.

Thank you, everyone, and for those of you without an answer please wish us fortune in his healing. =(

Kind regards,
A very scared tortoise father.
 
Last edited:

Yvonne G

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That's because the beak is overgrown. If you can't do it, you need to find someone experienced with beak trimming.
 

crimson_lotus

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definitely get the beak trimmed and separate those torts if possible. Russians are known to be scrappy
 
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