Do you clip their nails? At what age would you start? What do you use? Do you let them 'wear down' naturally? I see some of the bigger torts on here like 'Bob' and those claws looks like deadly weapons for sure! Lol Just wondering....
Toe nail clipping...
- Thread starter DonaTello's-Mom
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I never have. Mine walk so much on hard, rocky ground, they just wear down on their own.
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Provide them with slate and rock type surfaces, including slight inclines, and that will help. Also, outdoor tort who can dig in natural soil\dirt with rocks and such will also not need trimming. Torts that have overgrown beaks and nails tend to be those that live in small glass tank with poor diet and poor husbandry. Those that are able to live a more natural torty life that inlcudes lots of walking, climbing, and digging (depending on species), with a good diet will not need help trimming...
I think when you provide an environment which mimics their natural environment, which includes hard surfaces, you won't need to clip nails or beaks. I have a slate tile and some river rocks for my tort (he also climbs the log, which I hadn't thought would help his nails when I bought it, but I think it does; same with scratching the walls lol). I would only get nails clipped if it was a newly acquired tort who had not been kept correctly, and they are so long that the tort can't wear them down in a timely manner or wasn't walking well. Similarly, I would only get a beak clipped if it was impairing the tort from eating.
Thanks everyone! As always, good advice from 'the best of the best'!
I took in a Leopard tort last year that lived on a hard wood floor for seven years. When I got her she had like an inch to an inch and a half long nails. She had problems walking so I took some dog nail clippers and some quik stop just in case and trimmed little by little over time. In my opinion she needed alot of attention to her feet at the time, normally I would say no clipping. In most situations it should happen naturally. This guy on y o u t u b e walks his sulcata on a cement sidewalk everyday, that would be one way...lol
I saw that video too Jessica! You could tell that guy really loved his tortie!
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