Russian Tortoise beak?

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grogansilver

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Here is a male Russian tortoise i just aquired, it was given to me with its beak looking like this Does it look like it needs to be trimed? He Does eat normal as i watch him eat.
 

Kristina

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Looks like he might be suffering mild MBD. Rather than trimming, feed him on a rough piece of slate or cement patio block, and make sure he is getting a lot of calcium. Since you keep them outside, you don't have to worry about D3, so you can use just pure calcium powder. It is cheaper to buy the food grade stuff for humans.
 

grogansilver

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Okay I've read the post on here as to having to use a Dremel and followed advise on how quick and easy it was well when I turned my Dremel on next to him he freaked out and would not sit still he actually pooped on me with fear of probably thinking that his time was up and coming, I felt so bad I couldn't do it! I turned it off! and so out came the cuticle clippers and it was that was done easy and successfuly! But he's now back in his tortoise pen and hiding probably wont see him for a while!

what? what is MBD? and i do load every day four times a day during feeding calcium with the D3 included since i recieved him!
 

Kristina

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MBD is metabolic bone disease. In tortoises that are already adults when they start having issues, it shows as overgrown/deformed beaks and overgrown nails. In younger tortoises, there are more severe deformities as they grow. It is caused by a lack of UV exposure/lack of D3.
 

grogansilver

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Well I was given him and a large female! He the guy had both of them for a year the female looks fine! And health I just thought his beak needed to be trimmed. Is this reversible? Or will it progress to death? And this is not contagious is it to my other tortoises?
 

GeoTerraTestudo

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grogansilver said:
Well I was given him and a large female! He the guy had both of them for a year the female looks fine! And health I just thought his beak needed to be trimmed. Is this reversible? Or will it progress to death? And this is not contagious is it to my other tortoises?

Hi, Grogan. As I was saying here, metabolic bone disease is found in reptiles that have, or used to have a deficiency in vitamins and/or minerals, resulting in a weakened skeleton. As Kristina said, it is caused by poor diet and/or inadequate light levels. Since it is not caused by viruses or bacteria, it is not contagious. It can be arrested with good nutrition and sunlight, although the disfigurement is not reversible.
 

Kristina

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No, your tortoise is not going to die. You are already providing the best treatment by keeping them outside in the natural sunshine. With a good diet and calcium supplement, they will be just fine. Keep working on providing a more varied diet and getting away from the romaine.

It is not a contagious disease, it is a husbandry issue. It isn't all that serious in your tortoise. I have seen much, much worse. What caught my eye is the way that the beak bulges out, rather than just being too long. Take my advice and use a couple of slate tiles or patio blocks for feeding, it helps with the nails too ;)
 
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