I have a hingeback tortoise and he's about four years old. The shell near his head has a random sharp part that has scratched along his neck. I think this will heal by itself, but i'm concerned it's going to continue to scratch him and end in an infection. I know that they can feel anything below 1mm of their shell, so i'm concerned about attempting to file it down, but on the other hand it's harming him. What's the best option?

Hiya,

Have you any photos please? If it is damaging his neck I would be inclined to remove the offending sharp edge. If you're not sure pop him to the vets to get it checked over.

HTH
Darren


TC
Darren

Hi,

I've heard of this happening before. Is it possible to send us a close up photo of that part of the shell? It will help us to find a solution if we can see the actual bit that is scratching.

Cheers,
Nina

Hi

Rather than file the sharp area down just yet how about putting some micropore tape over the sharp edges for a while and see if this helps. Whilst filing the shell might be a good idea if you are uncertain of how much then there's always the worry of taking too much off the shell if you aren't very careful.

Helen