new tort question. sexing

[goodsmeagol]

i got that Tort for my friend which had been fed a little baby food.
It looks ok.
bit of a large beak, not too big tho. will post pic soon.

the tail has a HARD hook on the end.
What doe hat signify?v anything?

it also looks like it was free fed. one ring of growth is rather thick. no pyramiding.
will post pics when i can get them\thanks

it will be under proper care.
cuttle bone and being fed on slate is in place for beak.
it over hangs maybe 3mm maybe 4mm.
it is eating with what looks like no problems


thanks

 

[goodsmeagol]

Pics...
From a blackberry, but I hope you get the idea.
I believe he is a well HE... He has a very definable hook.

Is this beak to big to be healthy? I fed him greens while I was there and he chomped them down seamlessly.

 

[Meg90]

His beak need to be trimmed. His.

 

[goodsmeagol]

His beak need to be trimmed. His.

NEEDS?
damn!

Can some one run me through the process so I can go and help him(the owner, my friend) do it?
I read something about a small 'sander' tool?
2 person job, one person holds animal while one person uses the tool.
Scale of 1-10, how difficult/dangerous?

Thanks for the help.

**How does everything else look on him?

 

[Meg90]

I would not try it myself--take him to a vet. You have to forcibly hold the animals head out, when they try to withdraw it, and they are very strong. Unstable hands could clip too much and cause damage. Its WAY too long to be left the way it is. This is part of tortoise ownership--he took on this animal, and needs that taken care of.

He looks very dry to me, and his enclosure looks very dark. I would add another light--just a house bulb to bring in more visibility. They are creatures of day time, and open spaces. Not dark caves.

He has not pyramided because he is WC and nearly (if not already) fully grown.

 

[goodsmeagol]

I would not try it myself--take him to a vet. You have to forcibly hold the animals head out, when they try to withdraw it, and they are very strong. Unstable hands could clip too much and cause damage. Its WAY too long to be left the way it is. This is part of tortoise ownership--he took on this animal, and needs that taken care of.

He looks very dry to me, and his enclosure looks very dark. I would add another light--just a house bulb to bring in more visibility. They are creatures of day time, and open spaces. Not dark caves.

He has not pyramided because he is WC and nearly (if not already) fully grown.

The cage is much brighter then it is in the picture.
The pictures were taken on a blackberry, poor camera.... I have advised he needs to give it a good bath tomorrow tho.
He is only about 4"... And 3 years old. Not full grown, yeh?

We will get it looked after, do not worry.

 

[Meg90]

He's much older than three. I'd say he's atleast 7 or 8 years old, and male Russians stay quite small. Most never reach 6 inches.

 

[Kymiie]

I would go to a vet for his beak to be trimmed, as they are professional, personally i would never forgive myself if i did it wrong or let someone else do it!
After the beak has been trimmed get him a cuttle bone

xx

 

[-ryan-]

Yeah, beak trimming can be hazardous because it can crack and infect the soft tissue. I had a beak trimmed on one of my torts at one point and a friend of mine did it (he at one time had a collection of over 80 tortoises, some of them extremely rare). I do believe, however, that you could allow the tortoise to naturally wear the beak down over time by providing it with something to chew on. A lot of people say cuttlebone, but I have never seen my tortoises chew a cuttlebone, but about once a week (or whenever I have one available) I will toss in a 'stump' from the romaine lettuce. It's not very nutritious, but they work their beaks out like crazy trying to eat it and I'm sure they benefit from the extra water intake.

Just an idea.

 

[goodsmeagol]

Yeah, beak trimming can be hazardous because it can crack and infect the soft tissue. I had a beak trimmed on one of my torts at one point and a friend of mine did it (he at one time had a collection of over 80 tortoises, some of them extremely rare). I do believe, however, that you could allow the tortoise to naturally wear the beak down over time by providing it with something to chew on. A lot of people say cuttlebone, but I have never seen my tortoises chew a cuttlebone, but about once a week (or whenever I have one available) I will toss in a 'stump' from the romaine lettuce. It's not very nutritious, but they work their beaks out like crazy trying to eat it and I'm sure they benefit from the extra water intake.

Just an idea.

Hey Ryan, thanks for your rely.
Other torters(herpers?) have kindly informed me allowing him to work this beak down is not sufficient.
We plan to get it trimmed down 50-75% of the way, and then implement cuttlebone, hard food items and such to help him work the rest down.

Thanks!

 

[TortoiseMD]

I find it strange for this animal to be wild caught and having a large beak like that, I used to think that this is a development problem that has to do with incorrect nutrition (which does not happen in the their natural habitat)

 

[GBtortoises]

I find it strange for this animal to be wild caught and having a large beak like that, I used to think that this is a development problem that has to do with incorrect nutrition (which does not happen in the their natural habitat)

It's not that at all unusual for a wild caught tortoise that has been in captivity for a length of time to have an overgrown beak. It actually used to be seen much more often 15-20 years ago. But many people today are better informed than back then.

It is a problem that comes in part, from incorrect nutrition along with poor diet and feeding practices.

 

[TortoiseMD]

that's what I thought, if the animal is freshly wild caught you wouldn't see this beak, but if he has been in captivity for a while then all the nutritional problems will show some way or another.

 

[chadk]

I trimmed 2 of my torts beaks last year. Not that hard to do really. I used a good fingernail clipper and my wife's emmery board to file it down smooth after cutting. Hope she doesn't read this

 

[goodsmeagol]

Success!
I think...
We could not get a good picture, as we let him just walk off and hide, and did not want to stress him further.
I put this together fast.
RED is the top beak, bottom is the lower lip.
I think this is a pretty good representation of how far down we got it.
Is this amount of 'over growth' acceptable?

Thanks to all who gave advice.

 

[goodsmeagol]

I have just been told he ate today, after the trimming.

He moved to his new and improved house on Saturday, and had not eaten yet.
I had assumed it was from him moving, now I suspect it was his beak.
We are happy.
Thanks for all the help again!

 

[goodsmeagol]

Here are some Updated Beak pictures

for comparison
the older photo with an aprox line of what we removed