Red Foot broke beak!

[TuRbOtOrD]

My 1 1/2 year old red footed tortoise was chewing on cuttle bone. When I came into the room I noticed that the cuddle bone was spotted with blood. My red foot(Dozer) had blood by his mouth and i saw that his upper jaw was now totally flat. Is this a situation that I should be concerned about or will it just grow back?

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

It might be nothing and yet it might also be a clue that your tortoise needs more calcium in its diet. (not enough calcium - soft bones, shell and beak) You can grate a little of the cuttle bone over the tortoise's food, but don't do too much. They sometimes won't eat if they can taste it. Do you have a UVB light?

Oh, and don't worry about the chip in the beak. It will be painful for a little while, but it will grow back.

 

[TuRbOtOrD]

Ok thx a lot.... i currently am using two uvb lights with one heat bulb for basking in his 8' by 4' enclosure

 

[TuRbOtOrD]

And he loves cuttlebone.....he will eat the entire thing if i dont take it away from him.

 

[dmmj]

An over grown beak, can break off quite easily. I imagine it is like when you cut your finger nail to close. Hurts for a bit, then the pain subsides, and will grow back with no problem.