How to find a good Veterinarian for your Tortoise (and maybe an excellent one!)

Finding a good veterinarian who is experienced and up-to-date on caring for tortoises (not just turtles) can be very difficult. Since tortoises live for a century or longer, there is a good chance that your tortoise will need to go to the vet at some point, whether for a beak trim, an injury or for an illness, or to be treated for parasites.

Mila, getting a check-up from Dr. Kelly Flaminio

In an ideal world, a tortoise keeper already has a relationship with a reliable and knowledgeable reptile vet before the tortoise has even been purchased or adopted. A check-up and a fecal exam (to check for parasites) should be done within the first two weeks of owning the tortoise. This is especially the case if you bought your tortoise from a pet store. If parasites or other problems are discovered by the vet within the initial 14 days, most larger chain stores will actually refund you the cost for the office visit and the parasite treatment.

We love our reptile vet, Dr. Kelly Flaminio!

Whether you are being proactive, or you already find yourself in over your head with a sick or injured tortoise, it is important to ask a few questions of the vet before trusting him or her with your tortoise's health.

First, how should you go about finding an exotics vet?
A good starting place is a list of vets that has been compiled by tortoise keepers on the tortoise forum HERE. This list is sorted by State, as well as by country. If you live close to a State border, you may want to check for clinics on the other side of the State line.
(Please keep in mind that not all of the vets on this list are guaranteed to be awesome.... they are however at the very least more likely to know how to provide healthcare for a tortoise!)

The TFO list of reptile vets in the USA and in the rest of the world.

Google can be of help, too. Entering "exotics veterinarian" in a map search near you should provide you with several options (Note: If your Google search brings forth a list of places advertising "girls girls girls" you might need to narrow your key words down a little more!). Follow the links to the vet clinics' websites, and see what they say about themselves. Often, Google listings already have ratings associated with the listing. Read the ratings carefully, keeping in mind that there are probably many happy clients who just didn't get around to writing a review.

Google map search for "exotics vet" or "exotics veterinarian"

When you have found a reptile vet who looks promising, give them a call, and politely ask them a few questions:

1. Does this vet clinic have experience with tortoises, specifically? (you can even ask if they have experience with your specific tortoise species, e.g. Russian tortoises)
2. Is this exotics vet familiar with the different care and dietary requirements of a tortoise in comparison to a turtle?
3. How long has this vet been practicing? (sometimes a newer vet will actually have more up-to-date knowledge about tortoises!) 
4. How long has this vet been providing healthcare for tortoises?
5. How many tortoises does this clinic treat each month? 
6. How often does the veterinarian treat reptiles in comparison to dogs and cats?
7. How often does the exotics vet attend continued education events and conferences pertaining to reptiles and tortoise care?
8. Is this vet able to trim your tortoises beak, if necessary? 
9. Does this vet perform surgery on tortoises, should this ever become necessary?
10. Is this vet available in the case of after-hour emergencies? (Not all are - in that case, please also ask for the contact information of an emergency vet who will see a tortoise. It is good to have this information on hand, should it ever become necessary.)
11. Is this vet able to keep a tortoise overnight should treatment require an extended stay?

If you have a VERY large tortoise, such as a full-grown sulcata or even an aldabra tortoise, you may want to also ask if this vet does house visits. In some cases, transporting a vet is easier than transporting a tortoise... 

A few questions should be asked that pertain to the financial aspect of a vet visit:

1. Is the first exam free? (can't hurt to ask - often it is!)
2. How much is the exam fee? (within a town, this can vary greatly from one office to another!)
3. Does this clinic do fecal exams for parasites in-house or externally?
4. Are they willing to run a fecal exam without requiring an office visit? Then if parasites are found, and treatment is necessary, you can still bring your tortoise in for the office visit and to get treatment.
5. Does the veterinarian give a price quote before performing a surgery or another procedure? Will different options be given? Does this vet clinic offer payment options if a high vet fee is incurred?

Armed with the above questions, you should be able to determine whether a vet will be able to help you and your tortoise.

Although currently in perfect health, this tiny baby tortoise
will likely need vet care at some point in her life.

We are lucky to have a wonderful and experienced reptile vet within easy driving distance of our home. Our veterinarian, Dr. Kelly Flaminio at the East Mill Plain VCA, is very knowledgeable, and we have had a very good experience with her care for several of the reptiles we own or foster. 

Because our reptiles have gotten such great care, I thought it might be useful to you to see a few of Dr. Kelly's answers to some of my questions:

Q: "How many reptiles does your veterinary clinic see on average?"
A: "Between 50-100 per month. Usually about 3 per day."

Q: "How long have you been treating tortoises?"
A: "I have been treating tortoises and other reptiles for about 5 years."

Q: "How often do you attend conferences and continued education events?"
A: "Twice a year."

Q: "What are the most frequent reptile cases you see?"
A: "We most frequently see new lizards parents bought for kids. Next, the most frequent cases are amputations and abscesses of various reptiles. Many reptile keepers don't bring their animal in until something bad happens, unfortunately."

Q: "What do you most frequently see tortoise patients for?"
A: "New tortoise pets often come in to be checked and treated for parasites and to have blood work done to ensure they are healthy. Long-term, tortoises most frequently come in for a beak trim. Some tortoises we see suffer from MDB (metabolic bone disease) from improper husbandry. In the Spring we usually see quite a few tortoises with URIs (upper respiratory infections) or pneumonia. Sometimes tortoises that have been found on the loose are relinquished to the clinic, and then we find foster homes for them."

Many of the above questions had already been answered in previous interactions: Dr. Kelly has extensive experience with tortoises, and definitely knows the difference between a box turtle and a tortoise. She is able to perform surgery on tortoises and other reptiles in-house. The clinic is able to keep reptiles overnight if necessary.

During my interview with her, Dr. Kelly also mentioned that local new patients to her clinic are welcome to print off the 'free first exam' coupon from their website. They will honor the coupon for reptiles as well as for dogs and cats.

Whether you have a very large tortoise, or a very small tortoise,
...it's a good idea to know a good reptile vet!

The above questions don't always guarantee that a vet is awesome. Sometimes, it will take several office visits to find a vet that will meet the needs of you and your tortoise. Many veterinarians are VERY GOOD veterinarians, but just haven't specialized on tortoises. Others might be operating off of out-of-date information.

There are a few RED FLAGS that indicate that a reptile vet is NOT a good tortoise vet:

1. You are told to feed your tortoise 'more animal protein.' (this is based on a confusion over tortoises vs. box turtles)
2. You are told to add cat food into your tortoise's diet (this is based on 35-year-old, outdated information that results in terribly deformed tortoises)
3. The vet suggests treatment for parasites with medication other than Safeguard or Panacur (active ingredient fenbendazole). (other worm medications, such as ivermectin, can kill a tortoise!)
4. You are told not to provide water in the enclosure (this is based on outdated, false information)
5. You are told to use sand for substrate
6. The vet claims to be able to tell you how old your tortoise is based on the 'rings' in his shell (tortoises are not trees. The rings are based on seasons of plentiful food and lack of food... which can happen several times throughout a year. The only way to know a tortoise's age is to know it's hatch date or at least hatch year).

Mila frowns on the idea of having her rings counted to tell her age.

CAUTION:
If you live out in the country, it may be necessary to drive several hours to get to a good reptile vet. If the weather is very hot or very cold, be sure to accommodate your tortoise accordingly. A bin with some paper towels or cloth towels works well for a transport container. Never leave your tortoise in the car - you don't want it to die of freezing or heat stroke.
If it is necessary to cross State lines to get to a good reptile vet, please be sure to know the laws pertaining to bringing reptiles across. The last thing you want is for your tortoise to be confiscated, or for you to have to pay a fine.

The pictures have been posted with permission from Dr. Kelly. I have not received any payment or other incentives to write this blog post. It was purely written to help other tortoise keepers find an excellent reptile vet.

Scary beginnings, but happy ending. Russian Tortoise Baby#3

Ok, today I want to share with you the somewhat scary beginning of our Russian tortoise Hatchling#3. I wanted to wait to be sure there was a happy ending. Rest assured, all is well now!

Baby#3, healthy and chipper now

First, I want to thank my very knowledgeable friend Melissa, who helped me and advised and encouraged me... at 10pm! She deserves a huge hug. I am so thankful she is a part of my life!

I wanted to share this, first because I think it's just amazing how nature is set up, and second, because I am amazed at how robust these wee babies actually are, given the proper care.

First, here is a picture of a normal hatchling's cute fat little belly a few hours after hatching. It is normal for baby tortoises to hatch with a small yolk sac still hanging out of their belly button. This then absorbs within a few days, and baby can go its merry way.

A normal hatchling's fat little belly. This is Baby#2.

Well, when I saw Baby#3 was pipping, I moved the egg to the container in the incubator with a moist paper towel. I did this because I was going to be busy, and didn't want baby to hatch onto the incubation substrate and possibly ingest some or get some stuck on its belly. In retrospect, I am so glad I did this!
I checked on it sequentially, and saw first a little head and leg... and then I checked back in a few hours later, and saw baby RT#3 out of the egg, but with a big orange thing under its belly. Yikes!

This is not what you want to see... a huge yolk sac!

I carefully took the baby out to investigate, and oh dear, it looked terrible! The yolk sac was huge, and there was some kind of pink thing on the end of it!

The yolk sac is way too big on this wee tortoise - she's a preemie!

I contacted my friend Melissa (who knows a lot more about tortoises and breeding than I do), and she assured me that this happens, and that it will probably absorb, with proper care. Baby should have probably stayed in the egg for a few more days, but might have kicked a hole in the egg while turning, which resulted in a premature hatch.
I made a little donut pillow out of a moist paper towel, and put baby on it, with the yolk sac in the middle. This way the baby's body weight wouldn't be squishing the sac. The moisture protected the membranes.

Baby#3 on her donut pillow

I then covered baby with a second moist paper towel, since babies like to feel covered. I closed the incubator, said a silent prayer, and went to bed. I knew the best thing for baby was to be left alone now.

Night night wee baby!

The next morning I shone a light into the incubator, but didn't open it. Baby was still on its donut pillow, but it moved a leg and opened its eyes when I shone the light in. It was alive! 

Towards late afternoon, I checked again, and baby had moved off of its little donut. I decided now was a good time to check on baby - and was amazed to see that most of the yolk sac really had absorbed.

Still not perfect, but SO much better!

I soaked baby in some warm water, and placed it back in the incubator in the container with moist towels. She was chipper, and walked around, even climbed up and over her little donut, which she no longer needed.

Soaking in warm water helps keep baby hydrated, and helps keep the tissue soft as it heals

Over the following days I continued to just leave her alone, except to soak her for 20mins each day. The yolk sac continued to absorb. The following pic is about 36 hours after hatching.

Much better - still just a little bit of healing necessary!

Here is Baby#3, when I was confident she would be OK!

No longer in danger, WHEW!

Now the yolk sac is fully absorbed, and the little umbilical wound is almost completely closed. The little pink 'tag' has gone inside now, too. She is going to be just fine. 

In another day or so, her little plastron will look completely normal

Also, interesting fact: She flipped herself back onto her belly all by herself right after I took this picture.

Welcome to the world, little RT Baby#3!

She has the cutest face!

...watch out, she'll charm the socks off of you!

Ps: I refer to this baby as 'she' and 'her' based on the fact that the incubation temperatures were high. Tortoises can be temperature sexed, with higher temperatures resulting in females, lower temperatures resulting in males. There is no guarantee, but it is VERY LIKELY that this is a female. 

Mo gets a 'forever' home!

Today was a bittersweet day: Mo got picked up by his new family!

He's going to be loved by two wonderful kids, and a fantastic Mom and Dad. The best part: they are my friends, so I'll still get to see him!

If you aren't familiar with Mo's story, you can read it HERE.

Ha. Look who has pumpkin all over his face. Oops. 

We're waiting until January to have the vet run a fecal, to confirm the worms are gone.

Mo's new family was eager to bring him home for Christmas - I'll miss him, but am so happy that his rescue story has a happy ending!

I told my husband that I wouldn't take in any new rescues for a while... to which he smirkingly replied: "We'll see!" ...I guess he's right, since tortoises have a way of finding me... and I'm not about to turn down one that is in need...

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!

Rescuing and Rehabilitating Norbert (aka Stumpy)

Telling Norbert's rescue and rehabilitation story makes me sad and happy at the same time. Little Norbert the Russian tortoise (Testudo horsfieldii) came to us early this Summer. He was a terribly malnourished, weak, skinny, mangled little tort, and over the course of several months, I nursed him back to health. Sometimes it was touch-and-go (we didn't name him for the first month, because we were afraid he'd die!), but he survived, and is thriving now!

I took this pic after I gave him his first bath. He was too weak to open his eyes.

Before telling Norbert's story, I would like to thank a few people. It was SO nice to know that there were folks far and near cheering little Norbert on as he got better! I couldn't have done this by myself!

- First, I'd like to thank Mary Esther from the International Reptile Rescue in Canby, OR. Her advice, hands-on expertise, and encouragement helped me immeasurably throughout Norbert's rehabilitation. Mary Esther has a huge heart for reptiles, and has some pretty amazing (and some tragic) rescue stories to tell from her 30+ years of experience. I am honored to know her, and to count her among my friends.

- Second, I'd like to thank Joe H. and Robbie (and all others who chimed in) from the Turtle and Tortoise Forum for their advice, empathy, and encouragement. You guys have no idea how much you helped!

- Last, but certainly not least, I want to thank my wonderful husband for encouraging, supporting, and comforting me throughout all the ups and downs of this journey!

Now, Norbert (aka Stumpy)'s story:

A friend of an acquaintance was looking for someone to take in the tortoise that their 16-year-old son had gotten bored of. It sounded fun, so I said "yes" - having NO idea what I was getting myself into.
The little tort was brought to me in a cardboard box filled with straw. He was small, VERY skinny, and so crusted over in dirt that I couldn't tell what color his shell was. He also had a horrible, decaying smell about him. I was too shocked to say anything (anyone who knows me can attest that this does not often happen) to the boy's Dad. I was also too shocked to take a picture of the little tort while he was still covered in dirt.

Left: Timmy's healthy leg. Right: Norbert's skinny leg

As it turned out (once I found my voice again, and was able to ask), the tortoise had spent 2 years living in a barn stall, without heat or lighting. The boy whose tortoise this was had lost interest, and didn't feed or water it for 6 months! I could tell by the look in the Dad's eyes that he was ashamed, and he said that he had no idea that it had gotten this bad until he picked the tortoise up to bring him to me.

As soon as we were home, I ran a warm soaking bath for the little tort. He was so weak that he couldn't lift his head, so I placed a small flat rock into the bath so he wouldn't drown. After a few minutes of relaxing in the warm water, he began to drink. And drink. And drink. As he warmed up, his smell became worse. I kid you not, he smelled like dead animal. I gently scrubbed away the dirt on his shell with a toothbrush. His shell was a sickly pale green color, and had what looked like bite marks from a dog in 4 or 5 places. Surprisingly, the shell felt good and hard, and his plastron was in perfect condition. His skin was pasty and almost transparent. He was so thin I could see his bones, and his face was sunken. His beak was overgrown, and his eyes were swollen shut. Amazingly, his nose was dry, and he wasn't wheezing.

Freshly bathed, and warmed up a little

I changed the dirty water, and placed the little tort into clean warm water to soak a little longer. I let him soak for another 20 or so minutes, staying close by to make sure his head didn't slip into the water. All of a sudden, ONE OF HIS TOES came off and floated away! I lifted him out and gently placed him on a towel to examine him. Sure enough, one toe on one of his front feet had withered and fallen off, thankfully without leaving an open wound. After further examination, I discovered the source of the horrible smell: 3 of the toes on his other foot were half-severed and the flesh was festering and smelled horrible. I wrapped the little tort into the towel and carefully soaked the hurt leg in some salt water to disinfect it. Then I smeared some neosporin on it (I had to work with what I had on hand for now, since I had not been expecting such a sick tort!).

Here you can see the 3 dead, rotting toes (the top one is still healthy)

Next I weighed and measured the little tort. He was 5.5 inches (14cm) long (shell length) and weighed only 275g! My little Roz is that size, and he weighs more than 500g! (The sick tort had a Jackson's ratio of 0.10 - a tort with a ratio under 0.16 is undernourished!)

I pilfered a heat lamp from my two healthy tortoises, and gently placed the little tort on some newspaper inside a 10 gallon aquarium - not an ideal enclosure for a tortoise, but ok as a "hospital" tank. I put in a large handful of dandelion leaves in front of the poor tort, not sure if he'd have the strength to eat. I made a little hide house out of a shoe box. Slowly, VERY slowly the tortoise opened his mouth and chomped on a leaf. His beak was so overgrown that he had a bit of trouble taking a good bite, but he managed to wolf down one leaf. Then he rested, and a few minutes later, ate another. I let him eat for about an hour (since he was eating so slowly), then removed the rest of the leaves, since I didn't want him to make himself sick by over-eating.

Still too weak to lift his head or open his eyes... but OH did those dandelions taste GOOD!

The next morning I met with Mary Esther from the International Reptile Rescue (IRR). She examined the little tort, and decided to hold off on trimming its beak. The most important thing right now was to make sure he was eating, and she didn't want him to be sore from a trim. She advised me to continue daily soaks to help re-hydrate the tort, and to aid his filter organs in expelling the toxins that built up over the months of not eating or drinking. She looked at his mangled toes, and decided it would be best to continue disinfecting them, and to let nature take its course, rather than amputating. She said they would most likely fall off on their own, and the stump would heal, as long as the infection was kept at bay. She also lent me some extra supplies to ensure the tort stayed warm. She also recommended that I paint some diluted betadine all over his shell, because the tort had some shell rot, and also had some weird cracks where the scutes were coming apart a bit (most likely from dehydration and malnutrition, possibly from being bitten by a dog).

Here are the cracks he had between his scutes

For the first few days, the little tort was so weak he didn't move from the spot, and didn't pull his legs into his shell. He just sprawled in his warm tank, napped, ate, slept, and of course soaked in the warm baths I gave him. Every time he was in the water, he drank like a camel. About 5 days after getting him, he started expelling enormous amounts of urates. This was good - it meant that his kidneys were functioning. He still barely moved, but he ate, and his eyes began to open. He began to become responsive to his surroundings - he seemed to enjoy having his head stroked, and he would turn his head to watch me walk by his tank. He eagerly ate leaves out of my hands, too. About 10 days later, he started sleeping with his legs pulled into his shell - he was strong enough to start protecting himself!

Eating again - several days later. His shell is still painted with betadine

His foot wound stopped stinking after a few days of soaking and antibiotic ointment. After a few weeks, the little tort started cautiously moving around his tank, still too weak to lift his shell off the ground. His little legs and neck were still scrawny, but I could no longer see every bone. Very slowly I had begun introducing some UVB by taking him outside into the garden for 10 minutes at a time. He hadn't been in contact with UV light for nearly 2 years, so we didn't want to stress his system, or cause too fast growth, which would cause a whole new host of problems. Bit by bit I increased the time I let him outside, and I discovered that he was absolutely WILD about eating clover flowers. He could strip a whole patch of clover flowers in the course of about 15 minutes. I began to shine a UVB bulb on his tank for a few hours every day, and his coloring started to improve. His shell started turning to a very pretty golden hue, and his pale little legs began to turn brown.

...starting to explore just a little while sun bathing

One night he started pacing in his little tank - I could hear him digging and clonking, and was SO happy that he was beginning to act like a tortoise: he was rearranging his furniture. All this commotion also caused him to lose his 3 withered toes, leaving behind a handsome little pink stump with 1 toe left. There was no more infection, and he walked on it without any sign of discomfort. That morning we named him Stumpy. We finally were fairly sure that he would pull through. He was still very skinny, but he was slowly and steadily packing on weight, and he was acting more and more like a normal tortoise.

The brand new stump - no more rotting toes! New pink skin!

Now that little Stumpy was less scrawny, we were fairly sure that he was a male. Because of this, I knew I wouldn't be able to keep him, since I already have a male and a female Russian tortoise. I did not feel comfortable just letting "somebody" (e.g. from Craigslist) have him, so I was delighted when my friend "dibbsed" Stumpy for her sister Rachel. He still needed to stay with us for a little while, but it was such a relief to know he would have a family that was knowledgeable and would spoil him rotten once he was ready.

(yum! Clover flowers!) You're looking so good, little guy!

At this point Stumpy still had his overgrown beak, and rather than have it trimmed, I decided to try a little trick I had heard about: I picked an unripe apple, and offered it to him hole, with just a small chunk cut out so he could smell it. About 2 hours later, the apple had a few tiny bits pried out of it, and Stumpy had gotten the overhanging beak piece stuck in the apple and had shed it.

Shedding the overgrown beak piece left those 3 funny little tips. 

The final couple of months were pretty smooth sailing: Stumpy kept on gaining weight, he became more and more curious, and stronger, and more active. He was a spunky little fella!

Stumpy exploring the little path that goes through our rock garden. I had just hosed him down. Doesn't his shell color look amazing?!

Finally the day came for my friend's sister to pick him up. She had built him a nice big tortoise table that had everything he needed. With a heavy but happy heart, I sent him on his way, and so, 'Stumpy' became 'Norbert.'

That's right. I tied a big bow around Norbert when Rachel came to get him!

Now he happily lives with Rachel, where he dines like a little prince, gets cuddled and stroked, bathed and kissed. He went from almost dying of hunger to being one of the happiest, luckiest, most loved little torts in the country! That's what I call a happy ending...

Life is good when you have a full belly and a warm home!