Oh no!! I only got him recently so he must have been pyramiding alreadyOverall, yes, your tortoise has been pyramiding for a while. You can improve future growth by increasing the humidity in your enclosure and soaking daily for 30+ minutes.
What bulbs are you using? How long are they on? Mercury vapor bulbs (MVBs) also contribute to pyramiding. A regular incandescent flood bulb helps with this and can spread out the heat.
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You've gotten a lot of the wrong care info. Pet shops and vets are infamous for this. The purpose of telling you all this is not to offend you or hurt your feelings, it is to help you understand how to take better care of your tortoise. I'll point out the issues I see one at a time from the text of your post, and then I'll link the correct care info for you. Questions are welcome.
12 hours. day is too much time for the UV. It is't like that outside. There is hardly any UV in the morning and afternoon, but there is a big spike mid day. Best to simulate that.
There are four elements to heating and lighting:
- Basking bulb. I use 65 watt incandescent floods from the hardware store. Some people will need bigger, or smaller wattage bulbs. Let your thermometer be your guide. I run them on a timer for about 12 hours and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. I also like to use a flat rock of some sort directly under the bulb. You need to check the temp with a thermometer directly under the bulb and get it to around 95-100F (36-37C).
- Ambient heat maintenance. I use ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels set on thermostats to maintain ambient above 80 degrees day and night for tropical species. You'd only need day heat for a temperate species like Testudo or DT, as long as your house stays above 60F (15-16C) at night.
- Light. I use LEDs for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most bulbs at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish. Strip or screw-in bulb types are both fine.
- UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. In colder climates, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. 5.0 bulbs make almost no UV. I like the 12% HO bulbs from Arcadia. You need a meter to check this: https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.html
Here is the correct care info:
The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise
I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...tortoiseforum.org
This is an "Energy Efficient" bulb...which will not produce heat.Thank you so much for your help! I was told in the reptile shop to get the MVB, I should have looked here first.
Should I just get the Arcadia bulb that tom recommended then? I can't seem to find any fixture for a tortoise table do you have any recommendations?
Would this bulb be suitable?
do you use a UV tube along with this or just the bulb?Hi and welcome to the forum, I use the Acadia floodlight bulb as recommended here on the forum, I get mine online from Internet Reptile, hope this helps
I was wondering if these two bulbs together would be suitable? Thank you so much for your help there are so many bulbs its confusing.
I have also bought some fine grade orchid bark to increase humidity as that seems to be highly recommended on this forum.
At the moment I'm using the T8 but plan on changing to the T5 after Christmas when I buy a larger vivarium.do you use a UV tube along with this or just the bulb?
Hi and welcome from Wales.
MVBs are a convenient way of supplying heat, light and UVB in one and used to be recommended, but once I found out about the damage they can do I changed mine to a T5H HO tube for uvb, and a flood basking bulb - both Arcadia. Spots are too intense.
I also use a CHE run through a thermostat for night heat - the thermostat keeps the temps even and stops it from getting too hot for the tort, I also use it for extra heat when needed. I bought the Arcadia lamps online but the CHE and thermostat came from The Range for about £50 but are available online too.
I don't think anyone has linked this yet, but case you haven't already found it this is the caresheet you need which will give you the temps, humidity etc you need.
Ask as many questions as you like to clarify anything.The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise
I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...tortoiseforum.org
I'm not sure which one you'll need for a Hermanns (I have a leopard) but the caresheet may help you with that.Okay thank you, I am going to get the Arcadia floodlight bulb and Arcadia T5 HO tube.
Thank you so much for being so helpful x
Wow this pic is soooo informative thank you very much ?Overall, yes, your tortoise has been pyramiding for a while. You can improve future growth by increasing the humidity in your enclosure and soaking daily for 30+ minutes.
What bulbs are you using? How long are they on? Mercury vapor bulbs (MVBs) also contribute to pyramiding. A regular incandescent flood bulb helps with this and can spread out the heat.
View attachment 335844