General Care Discussion :: Beak Breaking? Or Filing?

[Islandgrljk]

Hi -
We are new here. Our red ear slider is just over a year old. His name is Jimmy. This morning we woke up and noticed Jimmy's beak looking jagged. I recently started giving him cuddle bones for extra calcium due to his shell sinking in on one side. Metabolic Disease probably..It had been like that for a long while...hmm..6months or so before we figured out it could be lack of calcium. So, I just let the cuddle bone float around in his tank and every once in a while he will grab a bite off it now. He is on his second bone in the last couple months. I didn't notice his beak breaking down before. I read where bones will help in keeping beak growth down. Is it possible he's breaking it down to much? Do I need to take the bone out?

My daughter saved him at a fair from a guy who was over breeding the poor things. He was smaller than a quarter when she got him. She moved out last month and left me him. I know very little about him and how to care for him unfortunately. But, Learning more everyday. I have attached a picture. Thanks for any and all advice.

[steve]

It doesn't look too bad. The beak should constantly grow, so I'm not sure I see anything I would worry about. Do you have any tank decorations that he might be aggressively biting? My male RES did this, and his tank is now pretty much bare.

[litefoot]

I agree with Steve.

I am more concerned about how you prepared the cuttlebone for Jimmy ?

""I know very little about him or how to care for him unfortunately"" stated.

Cuttlefish bones are lightweight and chalky , for manufactures to keep in in some kind of form they use a synthetic/man-made backing. When a turtle is strong enough to break it and eat can cause blockages internally (the backing). Also a turtle’s system can not digest it. Blockages and or internal cuts from the backing can cause _____. Some get lucky until that day happens…then wonder why. When a necropsy is done the backing is the cause. Heard too many stories of turtles and early _____ from the backing at the center. You can buy bones “without” the backing but most use bird cuttlebones since much cheaper. Remove backing or use powered supplement if needed. A balanced ,well varied , nutritious diet with proper UVB lighting to help the metabolic process is best then calcium supplements are only needed as a option. Only with a blood test can one know for sure if calcium is need as in a case for females producing egg’s.

Being you just inherited him from your daughter I would research well . Goggle for lots of videos on how to remove backing for a turtle , Jimmy’s safety. You can use search box above too on cuttlebone.