Possible tortoise pyramiding.

Thom969

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I have a sulcata not sure of the age. He's a juvenile I can see that he's a male I've had him since around September of last year. I live in Colorado so it's very dry. He's been getting a regular diet of bell peppers broccoli stalk carrots and Bermuda hay i I believe or another one with high potassium I believe. He's been inside a lot lately with the cold weather but I let him out when the sun is shining. I'm building a 4x6' tortoise hut for him outside heated insulated with a mono style roof and will have buckets of water to keep humidity up inside the house. So besides humidity. Is there anything wrong with the diet, possibly I'm feeding him too fast I'm not sure but I'll post some pics. It isn't bad but it gradually looks worse every month not very bad but in 10 years it will be I'm sure.

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Thom969

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Also I'll be posting a couple tips for building these tortoise houses. A very good remedy for heating an enclosure would be a baseboard heater, radiant oil filled heaters will work perfect for maintaining a constant temp in a controlled environment. But I haven't seen any forums talking about baseboard heaters as a good source of heat. Just a tip for a cheap reliable way to maintain temps.
 

Reptilony

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The pyramiding does not look too bad and at that size I don’t think it will get much worse but you could help by raising humidity. I think your main concerns rn are temps and diet. None of the things you feed are good to be a big part of the diet.
 

Thom969

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Awesome. He just gets depressed when he's inside more than a day or 2 then goes and hides till I can take him out in the sun for an hour or 2 I give him a uvb light inside at the moment but he doesn't want it when I turn it on. He is not a baby I don't believe. Someone abandoned him or lost him never found the owner so I have no idea how old he is but he is definitely juvenile not an adult yet he's maybe 20-25 lbs here's a more to size picture
 

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Thom969

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The pyramiding does not look too bad and at that size I don’t think it will get much worse but you could help by raising humidity. I think your main concerns rn are temps and diet. None of the things you feed are good to be a big part of the diet.
He is actually fed everyday with soaked orchard hay I give him these other things bell peppers etc when I cook I'd rather not throw it away but it seems like that might have to change or not as often
 

Thom969

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The Pyramiding is minimal. This thread might give you some ideas for a box
ittps://tortoiseforum.org/threads/my-best-night-box-design-yet.66867/
The house is almost complete. Just need caulking. I need to build the roof. It's actually a very cool design.
It's a 4'x6' tortoise house with a mono roof. Heated with a baseboard heater 1' off of the ground. Humidity will be controlled with tubs of water, peatmoss and topsoil. Insulated and tiled roof shingles and house siding. It also comes apart for easy moving. So each piece is it's own nothing is nailed besides the studs to the OSB. I'll do a step by step when I'm done.
 

Toddrickfl1

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The house is almost complete. Just need caulking. I need to build the roof. It's actually a very cool design.
It's a 4'x6' tortoise house with a mono roof. Heated with a baseboard heater 1' off of the ground. Humidity will be controlled with tubs of water, peatmoss and topsoil. Insulated and tiled roof shingles and house siding. It also comes apart for easy moving. So each piece is it's own nothing is nailed besides the studs to the OSB. I'll do a step by step when I'm done.
Sounds cool, looking forward to it.
 

Thom969

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Also the side door is hinged for easy cleaning/access with latches to keep it closed tight.
 

Cathie G

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Awesome. He just gets depressed when he's inside more than a day or 2 then goes and hides till I can take him out in the sun for an hour or 2 I give him a uvb light inside at the moment but he doesn't want it when I turn it on. He is not a baby I don't believe. Someone abandoned him or lost him never found the owner so I have no idea how old he is but he is definitely juvenile not an adult yet he's maybe 20-25 lbs here's a more to size picture
Hello. I do like the oil filled radiant heaters but they dry out the air really bad. You would have to add humidity and keep your eyes on the humidity and temperature with a gauge. They usually won't burn you or your animals.
 

Reptilony

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He is actually fed everyday with soaked orchard hay I give him these other things bell peppers etc when I cook I'd rather not throw it away but it seems like that might have to change or not as often

Ok that’s much better, you don’t have to stop giving him bell pepers just not too much and also you could soak your tortoise a couple times a week if you want just to make sure it’s hydrated since you have not known this tortoise for very long and what it’s been trough, it can’t possibly be bad to make sure he’s hydrated. Always let him have a bowl of water and you can even give him a cuccumber sometimes. Im also looking forward the tutorial!
 

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