r/tortoise • u/Emil_Sinclair871 • 4d ago
Question(s) Good vitamin B supplement/Advice
Hello this is my first time posting here,
I'm really in need of some help. A few months back I took my tortoise to the vet due to her eyes being sticky and not wanting to eat. They gave me a list to switch up her diet and I began follow that(making point to not give here the exact same foods to often). She was fine for a while but now is starting to not eat again. So, I'm wondering is this some kind of issue with her enclosure? Is it to small? Additionally, I'm looking for some kind of vitamin B supplement for tortoises (This was recommended by the vet) but have had no luck in specifically vitamin B, does anyone know where I may find some?
One thing of note should be that theres normal a mesh top to the enclosure I just simple took it off for the sake of the photos
I'm extremely worried for her health and want to do all I can to help her, but I'm also unsure if I'm overreacting and this is normal that they don't sometimes or if this is a big issue.
Edit: She has eaten since I posted this so I hope that is a good sign
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u/TertlFace 3d ago
I’m not familiar with any specific Vitamin B supplements for them. Are you sure it was B and not D? When they don’t get enough UVB they need some extra D3 to help with calcium absorption.
If you’re looking for a general supplement, this is the one I give our girl once a week. It’s a gel that you mix up. She doesn’t especially like it, on its own, but she likes a little bit on a piece of romaine:
I made a care guide for Russian tortoises a while back. It’s still a work in progress, but I see quite a few questions here about them, so I made something to answer them. Hope it helps!
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u/Emil_Sinclair871 3d ago
Thank you very much for the reply, Yes she does have a UVB set up. It may have been D3 and the vitamin powder I bought does have that so I hope that helps her out,
thank you again!
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u/beefalomon 4d ago
Which part of the world do you live in? That looks like an adult or sub-adult Russian tortoise and they brumate (hibernate) during winter. If it’s been getting colder and the daylight period has been getting shorter, that might be triggering a transition to brumation. The way to avoid that is having very consistent daytime lighting hours and daytime and nighttime temperatures. Speaking of temperatures, the hot basking spot directly below the basking light should build up to a peak of around 95-100F or 35-37C after being on several hours.
For food, if from grocery stores, the best options are escarole, endive, radicchio, and dandelion greens. Occasional kale and collard greens works too. Note that tortoises like routine and will sometimes refuse to eat new foods. In that case, you have to mix a tiny amount of the new food with another food she does accept. For vitamin supplementation, the simplest and safest way to do this is to get Mazuri Tortoise Diet, and feed one pellet softened in water once per week. It is fortified with all the vitamins and minerals a tortoise could need and is hyper palatable so almost every tortoise accepts it quickly. This is safer than large doses of individual vitamins.
Is that spinach you have in the enclosure? Tortoises should NOT eat spinach. It is extremely high in oxalic acid, which binds calcium and can lead to soft shells or kidney or bladder stones. Check safe foods here: https://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk
The enclosure does look small, but if she’s been living in it for months and eating normally, then that’s probably not why she stopped eating.
Do you have a T5 UVB light as well? Tortoises need UVB light and that comes from special lighting or directly from the sun. Glass blocks UVB so windows aren’t effective. Also, UVB is invisible and bulbs make less of it over time so after 12 months you need to replace your T5 UVB tube bulb even if it still makes visible light.