nail care

[smylemaker]

do you clip ur torts nails or have vet do them ? if you clip them do you use cat nail trimmers or is there a wick like a dog or cats nail to stay away from ? this is Fred's nails and I was wondering if they are long enough to trim ..

 

[wigwamman]

do you clip ur torts nails or have vet do them ? if you clip them do you use cat nail trimmers or is there a wick like a dog or cats nail to stay away from ? this is Fred's nails and I was wondering if they are long enough to trim ..

the nails look ok to me,the beak could do with a trim though!

 

[smylemaker]

do you use a nail file for that, I just bought a cuttle bone for torts , but he doesn't seem interested in it at all.

 

[laney]

The beak isn't long enough to need trimmed IMO, just feeding on a piece of slate should be enough to naturally file it down. I am picking up a rescue tort with an overgrown beak on Saturday and after researching I have been advised to only cut to lower jaw and let it grind the rest on its own which is still substantially longer than this one. I think he looks good slate and rocks should help keep the nails maintained too, it's worth leaving the cuttle on offer mines go for months without touching it then randomly chomp it, apart from one of them that is a real addict lol.

---

Just looked again at pic, you could probably snip the outer two nails of the back foot, they look longish. Just don't cut to the quick(sorry not sure on spelling, the inner vein on the nail that you see). I usually give them a soak then do it so they are a little softer then just use nail clippers, human ones that is lol

 

[smylemaker]

I have one slate in his enclosure he likes to move it out of his digging corner but that's about all he does.. maybe I'll put more for him to climb on and hope he can file his nails a little.. the cuttle bone is just in his way right now, I am seeing a real funny way about Fred lately.. If I put something in his home he moves it, the mulch is all over the place b/c he digs and a lot of mulch gets in his food, so I now will have to find a way to feed him so he doesn't eat mulch.. so far I have been taken him out in his pen (dog pen) and feed him, spend a little play time , and see what he is eating.

 

[Jacqui]

Once the weather warms and he can go outside, he will do a better job of keeping those nails a proper length with the digging and stuff he will be doing. Same for the beak what with tearing and ripping into all those tougher weeds he will find outside. One of those benefits of outside time we fail to think about.

Inside the rocks and tiles, even if you use an unglazed terra cotta saucer for his food will all help with the nails. If fed on, they help with the beak as does feeding things in whole pieces or using the harder core parts too. Often we for example on a leaf of turnip green, we give only the soft leaf part and fail to give them the stem, which is better for beak workouts. The once a month hunk of carrot helps too (hunk, not grated). Weeds also have a more fiberous quality to them, then the soft foods we buy from the grocery store.

 

[smylemaker]

(dont laugh) the carrot hunk ? wont it just move when he tries to eat it? I mean how do they grab it so they can bite it?

 

[peasinapod]

AW: nail care

I also like to give my tortoise a bit of carrot every once in a while. If it is too big they won't be able to bite it well. Cut it lengthwise to create edges. You can also hold the carrot or put it against a rock/wall so your tortoise doesn't just push it around.

And lastly: watch and enjoy!

 

[smylemaker]

Thanks peasinapod I think my favorite part of being a tort mommy is feeding , I just love the joy , they seem to have eating .. I took a carrot and finely grated it to add to food occasionally, but I like the chunk to give him a little challenge on occasion too...

is that your tort eating a carrot? what a cutie....

re : nail care I took the advice here and added a few rocks, terra cotta dishes, so he can perhaps file his own nails, the rock I added is a granite and I put it tucked in the corner he likes to dig in, I could hear him try his best to get that rock out of his corner,, but I wedged it real tight so he couldnt...

 

[peasinapod]

AW: nail care

Yup! That's my darling. A piece of carrot can really entertain him for a while, it is so fun to watch!