my naughty torty!

I agree with Terry, a vet who cannot open a tortoises mouth is not the one for you. I suppose it could have been worse, he could have persisted and done some damage to the tort. Find yourself a new vet though as you never know when you may have an emergency and this one will not be able to help you.
Good luck

[EJ]

That is the sign of a caring and experienced vet. There are some tortoises that there is no way you can open their mouths if they do not want you to. I take pride in conditioning my tortoises to allow (notice I say allow) me to open their mouths for observation and conditioning when they wil possibly need it in the future. It's actually a matter of trust. I have one species that there is no way they have allowed me to open their mouths as of yet after 6 years but I'm still working on gaining their trust. Please consider this when judging the vet.

Originally Posted by *laura*

the vet said as shelly wouldnt open his mouth, hes very determined when he wants to be, there is no way the could have opened his mouth if he didnt want them to, but that is why they couldnt trim his beak.

ive taken on bored everything you have all said though and i intend on putting it into practice to get his ikkle nose back into shape!