help please!! picky eater, soft belly.

[ClaudiaInCasa]

Hello all!
My hubby and I live in Casablanca, Morocco and are the proud parents of little Tommie, who we think is a Mediterranean tortoise (see attached picture.) We live in an apartment and have given him a nice big area to walk around in (an enclosure instead of a cage) under the window that gets the most sunlight. We feed him the native flowers and weeds from around here but he's very picky and mostly just likes lettuce. He even refuses fruit.
Lately he has been more lethargic and his belly has been getting really soft. I read a bit on the threads here and I guess it's because of lack of sunlight (we only get maybe 3hrs a day of direct sunlight in the room and it has been pretty cloudy recently) and lack of calcium. In Morocco I doubt we'll find food supplements for tortoises, and vegetables etc that we find are limited here--does anyone have an idea of how we can get him to eat more calcium?
We'll be moving in about 10 days to a sunnier apartment where he'll be happier I hope, but we are both really worried about him for now.
Thank you for your help!!!
Claudia and Othman

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome to the Forum, Claudia!

You can do a 'net search for Mercury Vapor Bulb for Tortoise. When I search, my results are here in the U.S., so its best if you do your own search. But here's an example of what I'm talking about:

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&ke...vpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&ref=pd_sl_6fh4f3vm74_b

This light provides the needed UVB that helps the tortoise with his calcium.

 

[cherylim]

Hello all!
My hubby and I live in Casablanca, Morocco and are the proud parents of little Tommie, who we think is a Mediterranean tortoise (see attached picture.) We live in an apartment and have given him a nice big area to walk around in (an enclosure instead of a cage) under the window that gets the most sunlight. We feed him the native flowers and weeds from around here but he's very picky and mostly just likes lettuce. He even refuses fruit.
Lately he has been more lethargic and his belly has been getting really soft. I read a bit on the threads here and I guess it's because of lack of sunlight (we only get maybe 3hrs a day of direct sunlight in the room and it has been pretty cloudy recently) and lack of calcium. In Morocco I doubt we'll find food supplements for tortoises, and vegetables etc that we find are limited here--does anyone have an idea of how we can get him to eat more calcium?
We'll be moving in about 10 days to a sunnier apartment where he'll be happier I hope, but we are both really worried about him for now.
Thank you for your help!!!
Claudia and Othman

It sounds like you're classing 'direct sunlight' as any that comes through the glass, am I right? UV rays can't penetrate glass, and so you will need a UV bub as linked to above.

Cuttlefish are used as a calcium source - most pet stores sell them.

 

[LuckysGirl007]

Yes,it the only sunlight he is getting is through the glass then it doesn't really count. Torts need the UVB rays from the sun to absorb the calcium. So even getting a calcium supplement with no UVB rays won't help. 3 hours of unfiltered sunlight a day should be good enough. Even when it's cloudy the UVB rays will get though.

 

[biochemnerd808]

Your little tortoise is cute!

Is there any way you can open the window completely, or place your tortoise on a balcony (in a bowl or box) for a few hours per day, to get some sunlight that isn't filtered through the glass?

Also, you can grind up eggshells very finely, or even offer a boiled eggshell (without the egg inside!). My female Russian has never touched her cuttlefish bone, but she does on occasion take a bite out of an eggshell. White sidewalk chalk would be another option...

If you are able to find a UV bulb, that would be easiest, but I bet you can figure out a way to provide 'real' sunlight, as even a few hours per day would work wonders!

Hello all!
My hubby and I live in Casablanca, Morocco and are the proud parents of little Tommie, who we think is a Mediterranean tortoise (see attached picture.) We live in an apartment and have given him a nice big area to walk around in (an enclosure instead of a cage) under the window that gets the most sunlight. We feed him the native flowers and weeds from around here but he's very picky and mostly just likes lettuce. He even refuses fruit.
Lately he has been more lethargic and his belly has been getting really soft. I read a bit on the threads here and I guess it's because of lack of sunlight (we only get maybe 3hrs a day of direct sunlight in the room and it has been pretty cloudy recently) and lack of calcium. In Morocco I doubt we'll find food supplements for tortoises, and vegetables etc that we find are limited here--does anyone have an idea of how we can get him to eat more calcium?
We'll be moving in about 10 days to a sunnier apartment where he'll be happier I hope, but we are both really worried about him for now.
Thank you for your help!!!
Claudia and Othman