Not under veterinary treatment yet - he is booked for saturday morning (8:45 - the things you do for your pets!!!). As I said he seems quite happy in himself. I just watched him demolish a dandilion leaf and he has been his usual mobile self so a mad dash to the vet is unnecessary but this needs to be resolved so I can fatten him up for the winter.

Back from vet - no worms or fungal infection. The beak has gone and the Nares have been covered over with scar tissue. He has a low level sinus infection which probablt explains the failure to gain weight. Hopefully the antibiotics will sort this out. The Vet says he can operate but want the patient to double in size before risking it. We are to go back after the AB course if there is no weight gain.

Bless him - what operation are they thinking of doing?

Poor little mite. Hope the AB's help and you can get him eating again George. Did the vet advise keeping him at a warmer temp to help the AB's do their job?

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When Honey was on her gentamycin injections the vet said not to keep temps up

What caused it....seems the poor chap has had his fair share of being poorly....hope he goes from strength to strength.

The operation will be to poke through the scar tissue to unblock the nares - not major surgery but it will entail knocking him out.

The vet said he reckoned alot of people did'nt realise how fragile juvenile tortoises can be. I have to crank up the 'hot spot' to 35C & the patient is not to go outside unless the weather is really warm.

The tortoise is eating pretty well but is'nt converting it into fat atm. Hopefully the AB's will sort him out.

Cause was probably the RTI last year or a minor injury that got infected.

Hi George
I also have one with no beak and just one nare due to a cleft palate. She does really well and is now almost two years old, she lives like my other tortoises and is out 24/7 and feeds well, her weight gain has always been slower than my others and she is smaller than my other two year olds. I had to take her off hemp as that tends to get stuck in the gap and also have to clean out her gap regularly as food gets stuck up in there which could cause further problems.
Here she is

and one of the inside of her mouth

Gosh - she looks really tiny and lets you open her mouth - that must make it alot easier for you if she needs worming ect.

that looks to me like clef lip