Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, I need some help! I noticed last week that my 3 yr old russian tort Toby is getting a soft, squishy feel to his shell. He is still eating and is very active. I immediately changed both UVA & UVB bulbs as I can honestly say I think it's been about 6 months since doing so. I was feeding him spring mix. During the summer he loves the yard weeds Dandelion is his favorite. Since it is winter here spring mix has worked every other year. I went and bought some Kale today and pellets. He ate the Kale but would not touch the pellets. I also have a cuttlebone in his cage which he has never touched. Can I fix him? In other words once there shell goes soft can it be reversed and harden up again? What do I do? HELP, I love this little guy and want to do what is best for him. Thank you!

It sounds like you are trying to feed him a well-rounded diet, and the uva/uvb bulbs are good, too. But he may not be getting enough calcium or vitamin D.

The foods you listed are supposed to have good levels of calcium, but that depends on the soil the plants grow in. And if the tortoise doesn't chew on the cuttlebone, then you need to supplement.

The other problem is vitamin D. The UVB bulb is supposed to stimulate vitamin D production in the animal, but sometimes the bulb doesn't work, or it's not strong enough.

There are a few things that I do to make sure my russians get enough calcium and d3. When they are indoors their enclosure has UVB fluorescent lights, and I sprinkle RepCal calcium with D3 powder on their food a couple times a week. If the weather is warm and dry, I will let them bask outdoors in a screen cage a few hours a week.

When I keep them outdoors, I don't add D3, but instead scrape cuttlbone over the food. The sun supplies plenty of UVB for vitamin D production.

Summary: If you are keeping a tortoise indoors, add a little calcium and D3 to the diet. If outdoors, just add calcium. A light dusting a couple times a week will do. If you feed pellets that already contain calcium and vitamin D, you can cut back on the supplements.

If you haven't already, check the website below for general information on keeping russians.
Link

Thank you so much for answering. I just changed to new bulbs so I'm hoping that was the problem. I do keep him indoors all year due to pesky dogs that run ramped in the area. Don't want to take any chances. I just placed an order with Carolina Pet Supply for some cactus pads, seed mix etc. I have not tried them before and hope I can grow some yummy stuff for him. I will keep you posted.

I still recommend supplementing with calcium/D3. Unless you have a UVB light meter, you never really know if the tortoise is getting enough exposure. And when the weather is good, try to get the tortoise out into the sun.

I do have the calcium/D3 supplement. But when I sprinkle it on his food the little guy moves the top layer of food away and eats what is underneath. I assume he does not like it. He is very picky. Today he actually was way active. He was all over the cage. I might be crazy I think his shell is getting harder. I think I caught this early. I hope anyway. He seemed to be his old self today. yippeee! Just placed an order from Carolina Pet Supply for some russian Tort seed mix and cactus pads. Hopefully I can grow the mix. Have you ever bought from them and tried to grow your own food? You have been a great help and I thank you so much for your time. Michelle

I'm lucky and have a yard full of weeds from spring to fall, so I don't have to order foods.

I tear up the greens and weeds, put them in a bag, add a pinch or two of calcium/d3 powder, then shake it all up. A thick layer on top might discourage the tort, but if there is a thin layer over everything, she can't avoid it. Just start out very lightly, using just the tiniest pinch. I know it's hard to determine the right dose of the powder, but I think it's hard to get enough calcium and d3 into the animal using just UV lights and natural foods. So use the powder lightly at every meal. If you use pellets for a meal, you can skip the powder.

The idea is to dust the food, not make it look like it's been batter-dipped in calcium powder.

Good luck!