Deformed and overgrown beak

[hermannn]

Hello, I am a new member here as I’ve just come into care of a 5 yr old male Hermann tortoise. His previous care taker was missing a lot of the marks including improper diet, lighting, heat, and substrate. I’ve fixed him up a new enclosure with all the suggestions from this forum, and have started him on a new diet which is still a work in progress! He had an obvious lack of calcium with his last care taker and an overall poor phosphorus to calcium ratio. He was being given fruit and Romaine lettuce, and other improper foods daily.

From what I understand, the lack of calcium and improper UVB has caused his upper and lower beak to over grow and even deform (from what I can tell). It appears he has developed “duck beak” although I do not know to what extent. Im feeding him on a terracotta saucer, although I do not think it has helped much. I wanted to see if it was possible to slowly trim back his beak at home but I’m mainly concerned about shaping the lower beak correctly. If the condition looks too bad to do at home I will take him to a vet, but I wanted to get some opinions from this forum first.

I’ve attached two photos of each side of his beak to give an understanding.

Let me know! Thank you.

 

[Yvonne G]

It's going to take lots of filing and clipping to get that beak where it should be. It has to be done a little at a time, not all at once. So I think YOU should work on it.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Poor little guy, bit by bit like Yvonne says, bless you for taking him in

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Welcome to the forum!

How is his shell condition like? The care you described can lead to MBD (metabolic bone disease), any chance you could post a side view of his shell?

 

[hermannn]

Welcome to the forum!

How is his shell condition like? The care you described can lead to MBD (metabolic bone disease), any chance you could post a side view of his shell?

Hello! Thank you for the welcome. His shell has pyramiding down the center scutes but it’s firm which is good. I was concerned about MBD but am not informed enough on the symptoms. I attached a photo that I have on me but I can take one with better lighting tomorrow, let me know if anything looks wrong.

 

[hermannn]

It's going to take lots of filing and clipping to get that beak where it should be. It has to be done a little at a time, not all at once. So I think YOU should work on it.

Understood, thank you for the reply. I started with some clipping today but he was not very cooperative and I did not want to hurt him. I also noticed while clipping that his lower jaw may have some cracks leading down from the weird deformed middle section? I’m not entirely sure though and I can’t tell if it’s just folds in soft tissue. I attached a photo of it. I was also wondering about how long I should wait in between clipping sessions? Days, weeks, months? Thank you again!

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Hello! Thank you for the welcome. His shell has pyramiding down the center scutes but it’s firm which is good. I was concerned about MBD but am not informed enough on the symptoms. I attached a photo that I have on me but I can take one with better lighting tomorrow, let me know if anything looks wrong.

I do think MBD is possible. Visually we are looking for a depression in the back of the shell. A side view photo could show it better. An actual diagnosis is made via X-Ray, but it is not 100% necessary unless there are more serious symptoms like trouble lifting the back shell or dragging back legs.

 

[hermannn]

I do think MBD is possible. Visually we are looking for a depression in the back of the shell. A side view photo could show it better. An actual diagnosis is made via X-Ray, but it is not 100% necessary unless there are more serious symptoms like trouble lifting the back shell or dragging back legs.

I haven’t noticed any symptoms like that. He’s pretty active and doesn’t appear to have a difficulty walking or lifting himself up. This what his shell looks like from the side, so I definitely see what you mean by the depression. Should I just watch out for symptoms or is there anything else that can be done?

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

I haven’t noticed any symptoms like that. He’s pretty active and doesn’t appear to have a difficulty walking or lifting himself up. This what his shell looks like from the side, so I definitely see what you mean by the depression. Should I just watch out for symptoms or is there anything else that can be done?

I would say that there is some MBD. The two most important things to treat MBD are good quality UVB lighting and calcium supplementation.

 

[hermannn]

I would say that there is some MBD. The two most important things to treat MBD are good quality UVB lighting and calcium supplementation.

Okay gotcha, thank you. I just ordered him some Repcal ultra fine calcium with vitamin D3, and his UVB is T5 HO 10.0 UVB from ZooMed.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

I would say that there is some MBD. The two most important things to treat MBD are good quality UVB lighting and calcium supplementation.

Yeah I’d agree here

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Okay gotcha, thank you. I just ordered him some Repcal ultra fine calcium with vitamin D3, and his UVB is T5 HO 10.0 UVB from ZooMed.

How far away is the UVB and how many hours per day you have it on? You could also provide cuttle bone for calcium "cravings". It is not 100% necessary, but provides enrichment too.

 

[hermannn]

How far away is the UVB and how many hours per day you have it on? You could also provide cuttle bone for calcium "cravings". It is not 100% necessary, but provides enrichment too.

I have some cuttlebone in there right now but he hasn’t touched it yet, kinda just walks over and smells it and then walks away. I’ve been keeping the UVB on for 4 hours because I saw someone say that it mimics the UVB they would receive in the wild! I think from the top of his shell I measured 8-9 inches? But I measured it a few days ago when I set it up, so I’m not certain without checking once I get home. What’s ideal for this bulb?

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

I have some cuttlebone in there right now but he hasn’t touched it yet, kinda just walks over and smells it and then walks away. I’ve been keeping the UVB on for 4 hours because I saw someone say that it mimics the UVB they would receive in the wild! I think from the top of his shell I measured 8-9 inches? But I measured it a few days ago when I set it up, so I’m not certain without checking once I get home. What’s ideal for this bulb?

I believe 15 to 24 inches. Maybe @Alex and the Redfoot can comment on this, since I don't know the ZooMed brand UVB so well.