sulcatas sick :(

[antonio650]

I gave a 1 1/2 year old sulcata. When i got him he did not have a beak so i have to chop his food very finely. His toenails on his right foot have gotten crooked. Does anybody know how to fix these 2 problems?

 

[Yvonne G]

How did your sulcata come to be in this shape? Can we see a picture?

I know that in box turtles, one of the first signs of MBD (metabolic bone disease) is crooked toenails. Sounds like you need to start feeding your tortoise some calcium-rich foods. But all the calcium in the world won't work unless the tortoise also gets some vitamin d from the sun.

 

[mainey34]

May we see pictures?

 

[Alan RF]

Awww bless-will bump this for someone who might know

 

[antonio650]

how do i upload pictures?

 

[antonio650]

i keep him in a wooden tortoise enclosure 4 by 3 feet. i feed him grassland tortoise diet. he has a uv lamp and heat lamp that run during the day and a heating pad that runs all the time. he has a box that he can go into for shelter. there is a water dish. and i soak him 2 or 3 times a week. he has a rock that is wrapped in t shirts and thats where his food is. the t shirts allow him to climb up there. his substrate is a white towel. am i doing anything wrong? any tips?

 

[antonio650]

sulcata beak

Hey, my sulcatas beak FELL OFF about a year ago. and ever since his beak has been growing deformed. instead of growing up, it grows down and i still have to chop his food very finely

 

[mainey34]

This picture is hard to see. I'm going to bump you to see if someone has answers

 

[turtletania]

Can you post a clearer picture?

I use tinypic.com.... after you upload it will give you a code. You can just copy the code for forums and paste it directly into this reply section.

 

[l0velesly]

I don't think it's possible for a tortoise's beak to fall off unless it bit on something really hard or an accident happened.
I think you should change the substrate to coconut coir or something more natural. Try soaking at least once a day. I suggest you change the diet as well. Feed him natural dark leafy greens (like spring mix).

 

[antonio650]

No, his top beak completely fell off. And a few months later, his bottom beak totally fell off. Now his beak is deformed. What should I do

 

[mainey34]

I would say something is wrong. Have you seen a herp. Vet?

 

[antonio650]

Not recently I'm broke

 

[mainey34]

Can you post another pic like the one you posted but maybe a little farther away?

 

[NinjaTortoises]

Ouch Well all this isnt good, what you could do is let it get some sun daily and feed it some mazuri or romaine lettuce or whatever the people on here say to feed him and soak him and mist him daily and if you could buy cuttle bone for it, it would help, and hopefully he gets better btw cuttle bone isnt expensive

 

[turtletania]

Please be careful with cuttlebone, especially if your little one cant see - he/she might bite near a sharp bit which could hurt more.

 

[Laura]

calcium, sunshine? humidity? more soakings..

 

[antonio650]

can anybody tell me whats wrong with his beak?

 

[BowandWalter]

I'm no expert but it looks burned, could he have bumped something hot?

 

[NinjaTortoises]

can anybody tell me whats wrong with his beak?

I wish i could help you there, if there is no exposed tissue or blood then it has to grow back in just like hair and nails, i have no idea if there is a way to file it lol but that is probably too much and it will hurt it most likely, it mightve bitten somehting hard multiple times and weakened the beak and it just finally fell off, but you said he is eating so that must not be much of an issue