Normal behavior questions on cuttlebone, carapace, and eyes

Question
I've read that tortoises love their cuttlebone, but ever since I've been with Rory(my baby leopard tortoise) , he doesn't seem at all interested in his cuttlebone. I've left it in his sight for weeks with no signs of it being touched. Is this normal behavior for a baby tortoise? Or is there something wrong with the cuttlebone? Is there such a thing as a "bad" cuttlebone?

I've also noticed some white specks on his shell. It's not very noticeable, but the toothbrush bath I gave him today did not scrub the white specks off, so I'm abit concerned. What might this be? Internet results say it might be shell rot, but it doesn't seem like it. It's not large, squishy, or smelly. They look like specks of white paint or something.. and I don't paint his shell.

And, are puffy eyes normal for sleeping baby tortoises? He's about a year old, and the puffyness seems to occur only when sleeping. When he squints or if he's awake, he seems very bright and alert.

His shell seems a tad squishy when squeezed. Why is this? It should feel like a rock, right? Rory gets access to 8-10 hours of natural sunlight daily (with the exception of overly cold/hot days), and his diet consists of dandelion greens, grasses and weeds from our frontyard, and occasionally escarole and endive from the store. Could this be caused by a lack of calcium like how he doesn't eat his cuttlebone?

Thank you so much for your time!

Answer
Get back to me by email ( phrynosoma_texas@yahoo.com ) with pictures of the shell and eyes. I can't tell you without seeing it.

A year old tortoise should not have a soft shell, so something is wrong. You may not get sufficient UVB to begin with at your latitude, and why every tortoise keeper needs to have a UVB mercury vapor for indoor use, especially if you are not going to hibernate them. Lack of calcium or improper ca:p ratio could also be a contributor or cause. He needs to be getting calcium supplementation once a week to two weeks. All the calcium in the world won't help though if he doesn't have sufficient UVB.

A tortoise may not take to a cuttlebone. That is an individual thing, and I find that turtles like them better than torts. That's why you need calcium supplementation in the food, and not rely on a cuttlebone. Lack of eating cuttlebone did not cause this soft shell. Lack of UVB and/or improper diet did. Have you researched?

See my links:
http://wichitafallsreptilerescue.webs.com/links.htm