I have a young adult male cherry-head red footed tortoise that I have kept since his importation in 2007. He has grown from 14.0 cm to almost 23.0 cm during this time and has been healthy and free of any problems, except one.
For some reason this individual has developed an overgrown beak on several occasions while other members of my group of adults never have. If provided with free access to cuttle bone he keeps his beak worn down although he often appears to break it off close to were it should naturally be. During the past couple of years I haven't provided any cuttle bone and once again this single individual has regrown a fairly long extension to the horny covering of his upper jaw (maxilla).
The diet of this tortoise as well as all of my others is varied, not overly 'soft' and is well balanced. Again, none of my other adults has ever even begun to show any signs of unnatural growth in their upper beak.
Could it be that some individuals are somehow prone to this condition? Has anyone else had experience where only one member of a group develops this?
For some reason this individual has developed an overgrown beak on several occasions while other members of my group of adults never have. If provided with free access to cuttle bone he keeps his beak worn down although he often appears to break it off close to were it should naturally be. During the past couple of years I haven't provided any cuttle bone and once again this single individual has regrown a fairly long extension to the horny covering of his upper jaw (maxilla).
The diet of this tortoise as well as all of my others is varied, not overly 'soft' and is well balanced. Again, none of my other adults has ever even begun to show any signs of unnatural growth in their upper beak.
Could it be that some individuals are somehow prone to this condition? Has anyone else had experience where only one member of a group develops this?