Comparison of healthy vs overgrown tortoise beaks

Today's theme: does your tortoise's beak look healthy? Below I've posted 2 pics of tortoise beaks, one of torts with healthy beaks, one of tortoises that badly need a trim.

A healthy tortoise beak should be short and the 'chin' should be visible. Younger tortoises often have little ridges in the front, which is completely fine. There shouldn't be a strong over or under-bite.

Some examples of healthy beaks

I am showing 3 different kinds of healthy beaks:
-on the left, one of a tortoise that still has the little ridges in the front (which is totally fine, as long as the beak is short)
-one of a tortoise that has a smooth, short beak (top right)
-one of a tortoise that previously had an overgrown beak, and has had his beak trimmed and filed (bottom right).

An overgrown beak may just be long in the front, which is really easy to trim... or it may be overgrown all around, making your tortoise look like an old dinosaur. A badly overgrown beak will need to be trimmed by a vet, or sometimes local rescue groups and reptile specialty stores offer free or cheap trims. Every year I help trim many beaks for my friends and at our local rescue group meets. If done properly, it doesn't cause much stress to the animal, and can significantly improve its quality of life. An overgrown beak can hinder eating, and in some cases, prevent the tortoise from pulling its head into its shell.

Some examples of overgrown beaks, in need of a trim

There are many factors that play into causing an overgrown beak:
-too soft foods
-no stones etc. for the tortoise to rub its beak on
-underlying internal issues, such as metabolic bone disease (MBD), caused by lack of calcium and UVB
-different growth rates - I have one tortoise that needs her beak trimmed twice a year, while the others never or only rarely do. 

If you can't find someone to do it for you, you can also use an emery board to gently file it bit by bit. If you would like to learn about how to gently file your tortoise's only slightly overgrown beak, you can watch a short video here: http://tortaddiction.blogspot.com/2012/12/how-to-gently-file-tortoises-beak-video.html
If the beak is very overgrown, then this may take a while.

If you feel confident you can trim your tortoise's beak (let someone experienced show you how if necessary!), here is a description of how: http://tortaddiction.blogspot.com/2012/12/how-to-trim-tortoises-beak-with-pictures.html For small tortoises I use the clipper method, because the vibration and noise of a Dremel just seems to be a little much for them. For larger tortoises, a Dremel may be a better option. If you have experience with this kind of thing, it is possible to do it yourself, BUT don't attempt this until someone has shown you how!

Jill has a very healthy beak. I've never had to do anything to it. 

A view of Jill's healthy beak, from the side. 

Once the beak is nice and trim, it really helps to feed on a slate, and to have different shaped rocks and a cuttlefish bone, too, in the enclosure. These will help maintain a healthy beak. I also like to make the tortoises work for their food a little - I don't chop anything up. Feeding tough-to-chew foods will help, as well.

If your tortoise doesn't touch its cuttlefish bone, you can make it more enticing by soaking it in cucumber juice or carrot juice (the orange color helps, too!). I also sometimes offer eggshells, boiled to sanitize them. Some of the tortoises that never touch their cuttlefish bone, do help themselves to the eggshell, which contains calcium, too.

How to gently file a tortoise's beak - video!

Boo's beak is still not quite where it should be, even after trimming it... so to help him, I have been slowly filing it down every time I bathe him. I know that a lot of other folks out there are encountering the same problem, so here is a little video showing how to file a tortoise's beak.

For a less shy, more squirmy tortoise, you will need to hold them a little more securely. Boo is super shy, so my main concern is to tease him out of his shell.

How to trim a tortoise's beak - with pictures!

Tortoises kept in captivity frequently get overgrown beaks, which then need to be trimmed. Many tortoise keepers pay a vet to do this. However, did you know that trimming a tortoise's beak is actually safe and easy enough that you can do this at home?

NOTE: If you are not sure whether you can do this, please don't risk your tortoise's health. Have an expert show you how. Paying to treat an infected cut is a lot more expensive than paying to have your tort's beak trimmed, and it would be so sad to injure your pet. 

Mo was one of my rescues. His beak was EVEN longer when we  first got him!

You will need a few supplies:

Toenail clippers (XL), stainless cuticle trimmers, a white pencil, a skewer, a nail file.

I bought the stainless steel cuticle trimmers on eBay for $2 - they are by a well-known German brand, and very well made. It took 2 weeks to ship from China. Make sure it has the clipping feature, so you can get good leverage.
I don't often use the skewer - this is only necessary if you need to trim the bottom beak, which is rarely necessary. I used the skewer to gently pry open the tort's beak (holding the skewer perpendicular to the beak, so Mo ended up having the skewer in his mouth in the way a horse has a bit), which was only necessary once when we first got Mo. Normally the bottom beak will keep itself short by rubbing against the inside of the top beak. 

Today I will trim Mo's beak:

Mo's beak is too long. 

I know this is hard to believe, but Mo's beak has gradually been trimmed 2x since we got him. It was so terribly overgrown that we couldn't see his 'chin'. We didn't want to trim it all at once, because it can make a tort pretty sore, and we didn't want it to interfere with his eating. 

1.) You will want to tightly wrap your tortoise into an old rag or piece of cloth you don't mind throwing away when you are done (paper towels will be shredded by their claws). Getting his beak trimmed is stressful for a tort, and he WILL expel every bit of feces he has in his gut. My female also pees... have a back-up cloth ready, and wear some clothes that need to go in the laundry anyway. 

2.) With the white pencil, draw a line marking up to where you want to trim your tort's beak. You'll have to trim it bit by bit, and you don't want to stop before you are done, or go too far. This will also help keeping it even on both sides. 

I drew a white line starting at the corner of his mouth, parallel to the top of Mo's head.

3.) Some people choose to hold onto their tortoise's head while they trim. I find that this only freaks the tortoise out even more (making them really struggle and squirm), and most Russian tortoises can't (or don't) pull their heads all the way into their shell. I personally choose to 'free-hand' it (just holding the legs out of my way). You'll be able to reach the beak carefully, even when the head is almost pulled completely in. Just be careful not to poke the eyes or nares (nose).

If you DO choose to hold the head, however, THIS is how:

Wait for the head to be far out. Then firmly but gently hold on with thumb and pointer
just behind the jaw bone on each side.

If you do choose to hold onto your tortoise's head, make sure his eyes don't start bulging, or his eye lids don't turn purple. This means you are closing off his wind pipe, and he can't breathe. You can use the middle and ring fingers to hold the right front leg out of the way.
Make sure you are holding your tortoise's head on either side, behind the jaw, rather than top and bottom. This way your tort can easily breathe, AND you have a good grip. Again, I choose to free-hand it and don't hold the tort's head...

4.) Gently but firmly hold your tortoise's shell against your chest, with your left hand, hold the tort's front leg(s) out of the way, and as soon as you can reach it, begin clipping on the right side, always with the tips of the cuticle trimmers facing towards the front of the beak.

Start on one side, using the cuticle trimmers.

Clipping a tortoise's beak will feel a lot like clipping a thick-ish human toenail, but a little more brittle. The sides are thinner (and easier to clip), and the front is the toughest. 

5.) Bit by bit, clip away the beak, approaching the line you drew. Mo needed so much of his beak trimmed, that I had to cut parallel to the line several times before I was done.

Almost done - but as you can see, I still need to trim a little more away, up to the line.

6.) the very front of the beak may be thick enough that you have to use the XL conventional toe-nail clippers. Be careful not to get any of the tortoise's skin flaps caught in the corners of the clippers - that's one reason why I prefer using the cuticle trimmers. 

Much better! I just need to file the edge smooth.

7.) Finally, carefully file the edges smooth with a nail file (not the metal kind). 

8.) Throw away the cloth wrap, then rinse off your tortoise in warm water, to get rid of any feces, and to clean away any little shards of beak material that might be stuck in the skin flaps. 

ALL DONE! 

Your tortoise will probably pout for a day or two - having a beak trim is stressful, but NOT trimming an overgrown beak is more harmful in the long run than any stress caused by the trim. 

Some tortoises only get an overgrown beak in the front (especially in young tortoises who aren't fed properly, too soft food, not enough calcium). This was the case with the little Greek tortoise Boo. Here's a before/after pic of his trim:

Boo's beak was VERY overgrown in the front. It still needs to be trimmed a little more.

To maintain your tortoise's short beak, make sure to feed your tortoise on a flat rock, and offer a cuttlefish bone (available in the bird section of most pet stores). Also, as long as your tortoise is healthy, there is no reason to cut up a tortoise's food. Let your tortoise work a little while he eats! 

Feel free to ask questions in the comment section if you have any!

Peek-a-Boo!

Boo (the incredibly shy Greek tortoise) is still being incredibly shy... but he is warming up just a little! A few days ago he stayed outside of his shell for long enough that I could trim his beak a little. It still needs more trimming, but this is already SO much better than it was before!

Boo! (Aaaah!)

I am almost finished with his nice new tort table (remember, he's still living in the little aquarium his old owner kept him in). I've been working on it for 2 weeks, have dried the 6th layer of polyurethane, and just caulked the cracks today. It looks so nice! It has wood on 3 sides, and then 1 side has glass, but the bottom 5 inches are opaque. I went a little artsy, and I painted a fun design on the back wall that matches the design of our curtains, and I also built a little hide house. I still have to install the linoleum floor, and then wait for a few days for the poly smell to fade, then he can move in! I'll post pics on here, of course. I'm hoping I can move him into his new table this weekend. Boy will he love having all that room to roam!