Trimming beak & nails

[Jax Clegg]

My box turtle is walking weird and I think his back nails are overgrown but I'm not positive.
His beak looks a little long to me too but idk.

I don't have any exotic vets near me that'll take box turtles, any advice?.

Is it safe to trim the nails yourself? I can get a quick stop it it is im just not sure how long they're supposed to be

He walks weird and shuffles like he struggles to walk... He also hits the ground with his shell any time he tries to turn and it looks like the issue is his back nails since he walks on the side of his foot/legg.

 

[Jax Clegg]

His front nails look fine I was just wondering about the back

 

[Ink]

Does he get calcium supplement or cuttle bone? I'm not an expert but it almost looks like a joint in the knee? Wait for an expert.

 

[Jax Clegg]

Does he get calcium supplement or cuttle bone? I'm not an expert but it almost looks like a joint in the knee? Wait for an expert.

He has access to cuttlebone but he doesn't eat it. I got him a couple weeks ago with a bad respiratory infection and I just got him to start eating... He's only willing to eat while he's soaking in the bath at the moment so I haven't been able to dust his food with calcium but I do have it. Also we just stopped syringe feeding. He was getting a food mixture a rescue gave us mixed with some dewormer.

It has taken a lot of work for me to get him to start eating and he's only willing to eat red wigglers at the moment (I know that's not ideal but it's a big step)

 

[Jax Clegg]

Does he get calcium supplement or cuttle bone? I'm not an expert but it almost looks like a joint in the knee? Wait for an expert.

Both of his back legs look the same. Also I posted a video of him walking

 

[Yvonne G]

Does he walk like that on substrate too? Walking on a slippery surface isn't easy on their hip joints. The beak is fine. You can nip off the tips of the back claws with a toe nail clipper. If you do it in bright light you can see the blood line inside the nail.

 

[Jax Clegg]

Does he walk like that on substrate too? Walking on a slippery surface isn't easy on their hip joints. The beak is fine. You can nip off the tips of the back claws with a toe nail clipper. If you do it in bright light you can see the blood line inside the nail.

Yes, he walks like that outside as well. Would the nails be causing him to walk like that or do you think it's something else? It's been worrying me but with all the other issues I found him with it wasn't my main concern.

 

[zovick]

Both of his back legs look the same. Also I posted a video of him walking

He seems to be walking normally to me. He just looks like a typical Box Turtle trying to move fairly quickly on a somewhat slippery surface. I don't see anything wrong with the way he is walking.

 

[Yvonne G]

He seems to be walking normally to me. He just looks like a typical Box Turtle trying to move fairly quickly on a somewhat slippery surface. I don't see anything wrong with the way he is walking.

Me either.

 

[Jax Clegg]

Me either.

Ok that's a relief, I was told he looked like he had issues with his back legs by a rescue but that could have just been because he was very underweight ans was having trouble moving around at that time

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Just in case, could you send a video of him walking on substrate? I wonder why that would look the same.

 

[Angela & Taco]

I don't think the nails look too long, but you could give them a trim as Yvonne suggests. Go slowly and take small amounts off at a time so you don't hit the quick. I also think his walking looks normal (or, that is, mine also walks weird?).

They often take a few weeks to adjust so hang in there with the food. My turtle eats his cuttlebone occasionally. He'll ignore it for weeks and then he'll be into it for a while, so it's worth keeping it in there, I think.