Help please! Chipped jagged beak

[alyxpisani]

Hi! Please could someone help me/offer some advice? My 10 year old tortoise Charles has had a chipped beak (on his left side and at the front) for about a year. I’m a bit worried, I thought it may be a lack of nutrients and or UV, however I have invested a 2in1 heat and uv lamp about a year ago and have been sprinkling nutrients on his food everyday. I will attach pictures of the good and bad side of his beak for reference. Thank you in advance for any help!!
Also, does anyone have any good nutritional food ideas please?

 

[ZenHerper]

Yeah, it's overgrowing. That is pretty common in captive torts.

Torts in the wild are always banging their beaks against rocks and packed ground, and that keeps it sanded away.

A toenail clipper can be used to nip off the sharp points. (Just like a toenail, if you go too far back there will be pain and bleeding - just nip off the tips to start.)

A good file can then be used to shape anything that seems flaky.

You may not have enough nerve, and the tort not enough patience, to do that all in one session. That's fine. Take your time.

I like feeding on a paving brick that has been pushed down into the substrate so that it is easy to get on and off. The rough brick surface helps mimic natural surfaces and can grind down the beak for you going forward.

*************

Please tell us exactly what kinds of bulbs you are using...many are actually unsafe, even though they are sold for reptiles.

 

[Maro2Bear]

Greetings! Doesnt look too too bad. The front beak i think could use a bit of a trimming. Do you usually have a cuttle fish bone in the enclosure? Are you feeding some “tough” weeds and plant stems, feeding on a hard piece of slate? All of these things help.

Good luck

 

[alyxpisani]

Yeah, it's overgrowing. That is pretty common in captive torts.

Torts in the wild are always banging their beaks against rocks and packed ground, and that keeps it sanded away.

A toenail clipper can be used to nip off the sharp points. (Just like a toenail, if you go too far back there will be pain and bleeding - just nip off the tips to start.)

A good file can then be used to shape anything that seems flaky.

You may not have enough nerve, and the tort not enough patience, to do that all in one session. That's fine. Take your time.

I like feeding on a paving brick that has been pushed down into the substrate so that it is easy to get on and off. The rough brick surface helps mimic natural surfaces and can grind down the beak for you going forward.

*************

Please tell us exactly what kinds of bulbs you are using...many are actually unsafe, even though they are sold for reptiles.

Thank you so much! I’ll file it a little a day over the next week, because he can get grumpy! Yeah I’m summer he’s out in the garden digging in the soil and rocks so that probably did it!
I’ll also try the feeding on a slate!
It’s an Arcadia D3 100W basing lamp with an Exo Terra large glow light holder. I’ve attached some pics.
Thank you again! I’m very gratful!

 

[ZenHerper]

Mercury vapor bulbs are starting to be implicated in some problems...they focus radiation in a narrow beam (think laser), and keepers who test their bulbs frequently for efficacy are finding that they are not consistent in their output.

A forum member is currently running some FYI testing on various types and brands:

Real world UVB test done

I've conducted a UVB test and the results have surprised me. I've included photos of what I tested and tested with... A very popular T5 HO (5.0) florescent fixture and a SOLARMETER 6.5R. When I first set up my Chameleons enclosures, the new lights put out a reading of almost 8.0 at the top...

www.tortoiseforum.org

The standard long tubes seem to be the safest and most reliable at present.

 

[zovick]

Hi! Please could someone help me/offer some advice? My 10 year old tortoise Charles has had a chipped beak (on his left side and at the front) for about a year. I’m a bit worried, I thought it may be a lack of nutrients and or UV, however I have invested a 2in1 heat and uv lamp about a year ago and have been sprinkling nutrients on his food everyday. I will attach pictures of the good and bad side of his beak for reference. Thank you in advance for any help!!
Also, does anyone have any good nutritional food ideas please?View attachment 317869View attachment 317870View attachment 317871

The upper beak needs to have at least 4 mm. taken off of the front part below the nostrils, then it needs to be filed so that it curves inward rather than slanting outwards as it is doing now. Also, in cases like this, the lower beak is often overgrown as well since it has not been meeting the upper beak properly and being worn down as it should be.

To correct these problems properly may take more than one trimming and is easiest to do it well with rotary instruments and/or a file in addition to clippers rather than just making a one-shot try using simple toenail clippers. Additionally, it is a lot easier to do this job with the tortoise anesthetized/immobilized. IE, you might want to have a vet do this to save yourself a good deal of stress and make it easier on the tortoise as well.

 

[Ray--Opo]

The upper beak needs to have at least 4 mm. taken off of the front part below the nostrils, then it needs to be filed so that it curves inward rather than slanting outwards as it is doing now. Also, in cases like this, the lower beak is often overgrown as well since it has not been meeting the upper beak properly and being worn down as it should be.

To correct these problems properly may take more than one trimming and is easiest to do it well with rotary instruments and/or a file in addition to clippers rather than just making a one-shot try using simple toenail clippers. Additionally, it is a lot easier to do this job with the tortoise anesthetized/immobilized. IE, you might want to have a vet do this to save yourself a good deal of stress and make it easier on the tortoise as well.

Exactly, if you have never done it, don't practice on your tort. Find a vet that knows what they're doing.

 

[SasquatchTortoise]

I have seen much worse. I would put a cuttlebone and a flat stone in their home. It seems to do well for my tortoise
about the chipping, I do not think it is much to worry about, but we could wait for other opinions