Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Okay, so I've had a Russian tortoise for almost 10 years. There was a time when my wife and I could not keep him and my mother volunteered to keep him. She had him for about a year. I gave her he 55-gallon rubbermaid with the 2 UV bulbs and the heat lamps. I told her what to feed him, etc.

Once my wife and I got moved, I wanted him back. She had been feeding him some kind of "tortoise pellets" (eeek!!) and did not replace the UV or heat bulbs when they went out. So he had a year of bad husbandry.

Well, I've noticed in the last year or so that Sampson's beak has grown a lot. Like.. really long! I didn't think it was that much of a problem until tonight when I saw that his beak actually got caught on his lower jaw!! He could not close his mouth! I freaked!

I offered him some greens and a strawberry to tempt him into opening his mouth. He finally did, but now it clicks and makes this horrible sound everytime he opens his mouth. It's heartbreaking.

I'm waking up early to call a reptile vet tomorrow and I'm going to bring him in to have it shaved. They'll probably anasthetize (spelling?) him, right?

I'm super scared.... any thoughts?

That's one of the disadvantages of pellets... but the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. Solution... continue feeding the pellets. The tortoise will not have a problem eating these.

The beak trim... many tortoises seem to actually enjoy it. It's not a big deal.

>>Okay, so I've had a Russian tortoise for almost 10 years. There was a time when my wife and I could not keep him and my mother volunteered to keep him. She had him for about a year. I gave her he 55-gallon rubbermaid with the 2 UV bulbs and the heat lamps. I told her what to feed him, etc.
>>
>>Once my wife and I got moved, I wanted him back. She had been feeding him some kind of "tortoise pellets" (eeek!!) and did not replace the UV or heat bulbs when they went out. So he had a year of bad husbandry.
>>
>>Well, I've noticed in the last year or so that Sampson's beak has grown a lot. Like.. really long! I didn't think it was that much of a problem until tonight when I saw that his beak actually got caught on his lower jaw!! He could not close his mouth! I freaked!
>>
>>I offered him some greens and a strawberry to tempt him into opening his mouth. He finally did, but now it clicks and makes this horrible sound everytime he opens his mouth. It's heartbreaking.
>>
>>I'm waking up early to call a reptile vet tomorrow and I'm going to bring him in to have it shaved. They'll probably anasthetize (spelling?) him, right?
>>
>>I'm super scared.... any thoughts?
>>
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Ed @ Tortoise Keepers
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care

Really?? Continue feeding him those pellets?? Currently I feed him romaine, escarole, endive, radiccio, and a few pieces of carrot shavings all dusted with calcium powder. He lives outside (I live in Texas) so I know he gets plenty of sun.

some tortoises are resistant and will withdraw into their shells, making it difficult to perform routine nail and beak trimming
but the more often you attempt it, the more used to the grooming they become, until eventually (usually) they will submit
once the beak is pruned back to a more natural state, the natural diet will help keep it in shape
if the tortoise will gnaw on cuttlebone that will help too
while fruit is not a natural food for Russian tortoises,
let him chew on hard skinned items like watermelon with the rind
an occasional grooming of beak and claws should be part of routine maintenance
good luck

I dropped him off at the Herp Vet this morning. Sampsons weighs 433 grams and the Vet said he looks great! He's going to sedate him and trim his beak and nails back to a more natural position/shape. I'll pick him up this afternoon! I'll take a new picture and report back when I get him!

personally I would ditch the romaine or make it a very insignificant part of his diet. Dandelion greens are a very good green and I seem to recall they were more common in texas than they are here in Fl.. In spite of the warnings about cruciferous vegetables most of us who do herbivorous reptiles here in fl. use collard and mustard greens quite extensively with no problem at all. One advantage you have living in Texas over us here in Fl. is you have a much larger diversity of wild grasses than we do here in Fl.. Try letting him roam in an area of your yard that has natural grasses (not the st. augustine grass or "carpet grass" as it is often called in Tx.). One thing I have found here in Fl. is that the gopher tortoises seem to enjoy the grass burr (or stickers as they are called in Tx.) producing grass. Something evident since the largest concentrations of it here seem to be around their burrows. I mention that since gophers and russians are both grassland type tortoises that primarily consume grasses in the wild. Spineless cactus pads are good as well and ulike me you can actually still grow them well since Tx. has not yet been invaded by the dreaded pricly pear moth. The pellets are good to keep as part of his diet, however personally I prefer actual fruits greens and vegetables. Someone else mentioned keeping cuttlebones in with him that seems to help with the beak thing.

I would feed him grasses and weeds.. but where would I get it? You can't really buy that kind of stuff at a store, can you? I live in a very urban area, plus my yard is clean of any wild grasses or weeds (I pay a lot every month to keep it that way). I have bermuda grass and it's cut very very short.

The vet today gave me some Plex-Sol C vitamin powder to dust his food with... I'm not sure about that though. What do you think?

You must be in an extremely urban area. Stores do not produce the items you buy and eat they only sell them. They are grown at these places called farms out in the country. All joking aside find an overgrown field somewhere that doesn't get pesticided and cut some of the grasses and bring them home. Perhaps look for a ranch nearby and ask the owner if you can take some of his weeds. I'm sure he'll be fine with it after initially finding the request a bit odd.
BTW I am a landscaper by trade and if you keep your tortoise out in the yard be sure to bring your tortoise inside when your yard is being treated with pesticides and pre-emergent herbicides (post emergent herbicides as well) as they can kill your tortoise I would also water your yard thoroughly after such applications and wait a few days before putting him back out. atrizine which is the most common ingredient in pre-emergent herbicides is a particularly nasty chemical. while I am not aware of it being directly related to any reptile mortalities it tends to have nasty effects on the sex organs of reptiles and amphibians. You do notice that the guy who sprays your lawn wears rubber boots and gloves don't you? there is a reason for that and a reason I don't work in that end of the lawn care business. Sorry for the horror story just trying to give you a heads up. As for his beak in the photo the tortoise looks great.

If you're trying to sell a green diet... don't go into advertising.

>>You must be in an extremely urban area. Stores do not produce the items you buy and eat they only sell them. They are grown at these places called farms out in the country. All joking aside find an overgrown field somewhere that doesn't get pesticided and cut some of the grasses and bring them home. Perhaps look for a ranch nearby and ask the owner if you can take some of his weeds. I'm sure he'll be fine with it after initially finding the request a bit odd.
>> BTW I am a landscaper by trade and if you keep your tortoise out in the yard be sure to bring your tortoise inside when your yard is being treated with pesticides and pre-emergent herbicides (post emergent herbicides as well) as they can kill your tortoise I would also water your yard thoroughly after such applications and wait a few days before putting him back out. atrizine which is the most common ingredient in pre-emergent herbicides is a particularly nasty chemical. while I am not aware of it being directly related to any reptile mortalities it tends to have nasty effects on the sex organs of reptiles and amphibians. You do notice that the guy who sprays your lawn wears rubber boots and gloves don't you? there is a reason for that and a reason I don't work in that end of the lawn care business. Sorry for the horror story just trying to give you a heads up. As for his beak in the photo the tortoise looks great.
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Ed @ Tortoise Keepers
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care

So Sampson went to the vet today and got a Manicure, Pedicure, and his Beak shaved down. BIIIIG difference, eh??

I bet he'll be a lot happier now!

Just feed him on a patio stone and it will keep the beak smooth. After a few weeks move the patio stone and place bird seed where the grass is now dead. Bird seeds grow into weeds. One small bag bird seed $3.00 One p.stone $4.00 Not going to the Vet.again, PRICELESS! VM pic caption....dont be..eek me bro!

so sampson got an extreme makeover -- he's so handsome now!

What a handsome guy!

I had to have my male Hermann's beak trimmed 6 years ago & it hasn't needed it since.

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DeeCee