New leopard, help please (broken beak)

[Tanker+poe]

Hi everyone!
I have a russian, about 5yrs now. Super healthy after getting him from petsmart with shell rot and bad pyramiding.
Today I just rrescues a leopard tort 3yrs old from a woman that was not taking proper care of him. Hes a sweetheart, super social. Hes badly pyramided, and the bottom of his shell is a little soft. Also his beak is cracked. He eats fine and pees great so far. Ill be taking him to a vet tomorrow. She was using a glass aquarium ,feeding Him all day fruit and kale. And only had a small wattage uv bulb.

 

[wellington]

Awwww poor thing. So glad you are taking her in and giving her a better life.
Btw, hello and welcome. Stick around and give us updates on her progress as she improves. Getting her some sunshine if you can will probably help her a lot and with the soft shell. If it's still too cold where you are, a good UVB light will work

 

[Tanker+poe]

Hes in a cement mixing tub without a top currently. Should I put him in a big tub thats closed for the humidity?

 

[Rue]

Good luck! I'm glad you're taking her on!

 

[Tanker+poe]

I'm also worried about my russian, he's my everything, currently I have their enclosure next to each other. Is this going to cause issues for either of them? Am I just a paranoid mommy?

Hi everyone!
I have a russian, about 5yrs now. Super healthy after getting him from petsmart with shell rot and bad pyramiding.
Today I just rrescues a leopard tort 3yrs old from a woman that was not taking proper care of him. Hes a sweetheart, super social. Hes badly pyramided, and the bottom of his shell is a little soft. Also his beak is cracked. He eats fine and pees great so far. Ill be taking him to a vet tomorrow. She was using a glass aquarium ,feeding Him all day fruit and kale. And only had a small wattage uv bulb. View attachment 169276 View attachment 169276 View attachment 169278 View attachment 169278

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello

 

[Tanker+poe]

Awww so cute

 

[Lyn W]

Hi and welcome and thank goodness you rescued him!!
There is a good caresheet under species specific for sulcatas and leopards which will point you in the right direction for diet, temps substrate etc The Beginners Mistakes thread (link below) will also show you some do's and don'ts.
My rescued leopard is quite big and in his own room so humidity is a bit of a problem for me but I soak him daily in warm water which seems to have helped slow/check his pyramiding and he loves to stretch out in it - as you can see from my pic!
A good diet and a pinch of calcium on his food a few times a week will help his shell with some decent uvb, and mine loves to nibble on a cuttlefish bone occasionally. Where are you located? Is it warm enough for some real sun yet where you are?
Your Russian should be OK if they are kept completely separately.

 

[Tanker+poe]

Thank you so much for the info. I'm in Syracuse ny right now, but im planning to move to georgia in about 6 months. I could not leave him there in his condition. Any thoughts about his beak?

 

[Lyn W]

Thank you so much for the info. I'm in Syracuse ny right now, but im planning to move to georgia in about 6 months. I could not leave him there in his condition. Any thoughts about his beak?

I've not seen a beak growing like that before.It is a very strange shape - maybe because it has been neglected or possibly some birth defect. @Elohi has a lot of leopards she may know more about this and what can be done - if anything.
Cuttlefish may be too hard for it and make it break off where it is cracked, which could leave him unable to eat, but its great he is eating OK at the moment.

 

[Tanker+poe]

Ok. Thank you for your help. Im bringing him to the vet tomorrow, so I'll post what happened here.

 

[Lyn W]

Ok. Thank you for your help. Im bringing him to the vet tomorrow, so I'll post what happened here.

Good luck with that. Just in case your vet suggests vitamin shots do a search and read up on them first as I believe I have seen on the forum that they can sometimes do more harm than good.

 

[Tanker+poe]

Ok. Thats great to know!

 

[Lyn W]

Ok. Thats great to know!

Obviously I'm not a vet and if your vet is a good herp vet he will know what is best. They may be needed in extreme cases - but if he is eating OK and has uvb it will be easy to get vits in via his diet.

 

[Tanker+poe]

So you think I should wait to take him to the vet? Im gonna go out and buy a higher wattage uvb bulb a chi and a tub with a lid. So the humidity stays in.

 

[Tanker+poe]

Does anyone know what I should do about his beak, when he opens his mouth it moves a little.

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

I would have the vet handle the beak. I image it will have to be removed at the break and this will likely be quite painful given how high up the break is. I would not attempt to clip this beak without a professional.

 

[Lyn W]

I agree with Sarah, if it's loose a herp vet will need to see it.

 

[Tanker+poe]

I would have the vet handle the beak. I image it will have to be removed at the break and this will likely be quite painful given how high up the break is. I would not attempt to clip this beak without a professional.

Is that going to cause him to not be able to eat? Ill I'll take him tomorrow to the vet.

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

Is that going to cause him to not be able to eat? Ill I'll take him tomorrow to the vet.

It may be difficult, but tortoises are very resilient. The break is so high that I am not sure what kind of re growth is possible. @Yvonne G has experience here.