I messed up by not changing the UVB light and now my tortoise has a cracked beak

[Phoebep]

Im making an appointment with the vet tomorrow so my tortoise can get checked. Im guessing the UV light is why it has happened but im not 100% sure. After i noticed the crack i started googling and saw that it can happen if they're not getting enough UVB then i checked when i purchased the light he has atm and it was around a year and half ago. I cant believe its been so long, that means my tortoise has probably been without it for months because they stop providing UVB after a certain amount of time.

Im freaking out, i have ordered a new one which gets here on Tuesday. He seems fine other than the crack. I feel so horrible, will my tortoise be ok?

 

[ZenHerper]

Welcome!

Sorry that you're both coping with this.

Although, yes, do change out the uvb radiation bulb (it actually is necessary for vitamin D formation and calcium metabolism)...overgrown beaks will break and split.

Keepers do a number of things to limit the number of times the beak needs trimming:

1) Use a slate or rough ceramic surface for feeding (to mimic hard ground found in the wild);
2) Feed mature broadleaf weeds that are not torn or chopped -- to insure the tort has to tear and rip at the foliage with the growing edges of the beak.

Having someone with experience file it back will help you to start over.

This is the forum's most up-to-date care info for Mediterranean species:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

www.tortoiseforum.org

 

[jsheffield]

I’m so sorry for what you’re going through, and I’m your tort will be ok once the beak is taken care of.

I know it’s a huge expense, but I felt so much more secure once I added a uv meter to my tortoise keeping kit… it takes the guesswork out of getting the tight amount of uv for your torts, and you can check every week or two to make sure output is where it ought to be.

Jamie

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I’m so sorry for what you’re going through, and I’m your tort will be ok once the beak is taken care of.

I know it’s a huge expense, but I felt so much more secure once I added a uv meter to my tortoise keeping kit… it takes the guesswork out of getting the tight amount of uv for your torts, and you can check every week or two to make sure output is where it ought to be.

Jamie

Don't look at the strangely inexpensive meters on Ebay.
The correct meter for tortoises and most other reptiles is a "6.5" type.

 

[Phoebep]

Welcome!

Sorry that you're both coping with this.

Although, yes, do change out the uvb radiation bulb (it actually is necessary for vitamin D formation and calcium metabolism)...overgrown beaks will break and split.

Keepers do a number of things to limit the number of times the beak needs trimming:

1) Use a slate or rough ceramic surface for feeding (to mimic hard ground found in the wild);
2) Feed mature broadleaf weeds that are not torn or chopped -- to insure the tort has to tear and rip at the foliage with the growing edges of the beak.

Having someone with experience file it back will help you to start over.

This is the forum's most up-to-date care info for Mediterranean species:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

www.tortoiseforum.org

Thank you for your reply! I will get a slate for him to eat off, thanks for the tips. I have an appointment with the vet tomorrow.

 

[Phoebep]

I’m so sorry for what you’re going through, and I’m your tort will be ok once the beak is taken care of.

I know it’s a huge expense, but I felt so much more secure once I added a uv meter to my tortoise keeping kit… it takes the guesswork out of getting the tight amount of uv for your torts, and you can check every week or two to make sure output is where it ought to be.

Jamie

I have an appointment with the vet tomorrow so i will probably relax once we've been haha. I will look into a uv meter.

 

[zovick]

Im making an appointment with the vet tomorrow so my tortoise can get checked. Im guessing the UV light is why it has happened but im not 100% sure. After i noticed the crack i started googling and saw that it can happen if they're not getting enough UVB then i checked when i purchased the light he has atm and it was around a year and half ago. I cant believe its been so long, that means my tortoise has probably been without it for months because they stop providing UVB after a certain amount of time.

Im freaking out, i have ordered a new one which gets here on Tuesday. He seems fine other than the crack. I feel so horrible, will my tortoise be ok?

No need for self-flagellation here; IMHO your 18 month old UV light has little to no relation to the crack in the beak evident in the photo.

Hopefully your vet will be able to help by trimming it to relieve the forces which caused it to crack.