Could someone slease glance at his shell?

[bellyboo]

Hello!

I haven't posted on here in ages, but I do really enjoy all of the useful information I find and I apologize for being such a lurker.

I've had my little Hermann's Tortoise for one year now. He was 15 weeks old when I got him, so he's a little over the age of 1. I've seen so many tortoises in the pet stores with horrible shells and know a few people that don't properly care for theirs, so I drive myself insane with worry that Hiccup, my hermy, will develop shell pyramiding. If some of the more experienced tortoises owners could glance at the photos I'm attaching and give me a quick opinion on his shell at one year I'd REALLY appreciate it!

A little background...Hiccup hasn't grown a whole lot in his first year. He was 1.3 oz when we got him and is now 2 oz. He eats and poops daily. He has a combination of greens (this was a wide variety in the summer when I had my garden. Not so much now. We have seeds started indoors though) as well as Zilla food once or twice a week. I also sprinkle on some repti-cal and he has a cuddle fish bone, but he really doesn't want anything to do with that. He's soaks almost daily and I spray his home (a big rubbermade tote) at least every other day. The cool end of the habitat stays at around 70 and the basking end is around 95. I have a UVB bulb over the entire top.

Thank you so much to anyone who takes the time to glance at this!

 

[mainey34]

He looks like he has slight pyramiding. Have you considered adding mazuri to his diet?

 

[bellyboo]

He looks like he has slight pyramiding. Have you considered adding mazuri to his diet?

No, I haven't. We do Zilla because it's sold here, but I will look online. Thanks!

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I ordered him some Mazuri. Other than adding that to his diet, everything else is good, correct? I'm seriously paranoid about this, and apparently with good reason. I want the best for my little buddy. I worry a lot about humidity. As I said before, I spray him regularly. He has repti bark in the middle of his enclosure with sphagnum moss/eco earth on the ends where he likes to burrow. I'm going to plant some seeds directly in as well to help with humidity. It has been so unusually dry here (Nebraska) this summer/fall. I was toying with the idea of getting him a tiny fogger. I soak him almost daily. He loves it, so generally I soak him on the kitchen table each morning while I have my coffee. lol!

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

Seems to have VERY SLIGHT pyramiding, but not too bad...does Hiccup have access to a humid hide daily? Is he eating chopped cactus? Lot of calcium in cactus, you know!

These could do a lot towards keeping the pyramiding from getting worse.

 

[bellyboo]

Seems to have VERY SLIGHT pyramiding, but not too bad...does Hiccup have access to a humid hide daily? Is he eating chopped cactus? Lot of calcium in cactus, you know!

These could do a lot towards keeping the pyramiding from getting worse.

He has a little flower pot turned on its side that he used to go into a lot, but lately he has been burrowing instead. We bought one of those log hides originally, but that went horribly wrong. He kept climbing it and tipping over!

I ordered him a cactus, and this may sound dumb, but I'm not exactly sure how to get all of the spikes off of it.

Thank you so much for the input!

 

[ascott]

but I'm not exactly sure how to get all of the spikes off of it.

You can pick off with tweezers or pliers or you can scrape them off and then rinse....

 

[bellyboo]

but I'm not exactly sure how to get all of the spikes off of it.

You can pick off with tweezers or pliers or you can scrape them off and then rinse....

Thank you! Someone (not on here...in pet store) had told me to cook it, but I worried that would get rid of some of the nutritional value. It's not like they eat cooked cactus in the wild.

 

[Moozillion]

You can also purchase spineless cactus pads to feed them, and you can also order rooted spineless cactus pads and grow your own. I know there are lots of places to get them- I got mine from Carolina Pet Supply. Other people may chip in with other sources.

 

[bellyboo]

You can also purchase spineless cactus pads to feed them, and you can also order rooted spineless cactus pads and grow your own. I know there are lots of places to get them- I got mine from Carolina Pet Supply. Other people may chip in with other sources.

Thank you! I may look into that. Mine is a pain. Pretty plant and it grows like crazy, but I hate dealing with the spikes.

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

Seems to have VERY SLIGHT pyramiding, but not too bad...does Hiccup have access to a humid hide daily? Is he eating chopped cactus? Lot of calcium in cactus, you know!

These could do a lot towards keeping the pyramiding from getting worse.

He has a little flower pot turned on its side that he used to go into a lot, but lately he has been burrowing instead. We bought one of those log hides originally, but that went horribly wrong. He kept climbing it and tipping over!

I ordered him a cactus, and this may sound dumb, but I'm not exactly sure how to get all of the spikes off of it.

Thank you so much for the input!

In the wild, tortoises eat cactus and simply ignore the spines, so removing the spines is really more for the owner's comfort/convenience. Your nearest "ethnic" grocery probably sells spineless Opuntia cactus (that's what most of us use), however, to remove the big spines on other cactus pads, you can just pull them out w/ pliers.

 

[bellyboo]

Seems to have VERY SLIGHT pyramiding, but not too bad...does Hiccup have access to a humid hide daily? Is he eating chopped cactus? Lot of calcium in cactus, you know!

These could do a lot towards keeping the pyramiding from getting worse.

He has a little flower pot turned on its side that he used to go into a lot, but lately he has been burrowing instead. We bought one of those log hides originally, but that went horribly wrong. He kept climbing it and tipping over!

I ordered him a cactus, and this may sound dumb, but I'm not exactly sure how to get all of the spikes off of it.

Thank you so much for the input!

In the wild, tortoises eat cactus and simply ignore the spines, so removing the spines is really more for the owner's comfort/convenience. Your nearest "ethnic" grocery probably sells spineless Opuntia cactus (that's what most of us use), however, to remove the big spines on other cactus pads, you can just pull them out w/ pliers.

Thank you! I think sometimes I forget how capable the little guys are in the wild. I was just worried about those teeny, tiny spikes poking him or something.

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

Thank you! I think sometimes I forget how capable the little guys are in the wild. I was just worried about those teeny, tiny spikes poking him or something.

Their tongues are pretty tough, so even the big spines don't phase 'em...they'll either eat spines, too, or just eat around them.

I once planted some native (well-spined) Opuntia cactus in my Hermann's enclosure, for decorations, but they decided to eat it, too!

Later, looking through their "poop", I found some spines!

 

[bellyboo]

Thank you! I think sometimes I forget how capable the little guys are in the wild. I was just worried about those teeny, tiny spikes poking him or something.

Their tongues are pretty tough, so even the big spines don't phase 'em...they'll either eat spines, too, or just eat around them.

I once planted some native (well-spined) Opuntia cactus in my Hermann's enclosure, for decorations, but they decided to eat it, too!

Later, looking through their "poop", I found some spines!

Ha! That's funny! I think if I planted it directly in there he'd eat it as well. Little guy tries to eat pretty much anything we put in there.

 

[taurusgi]

I got some of the spineless Opuntia cactus from tortoisesupply.com and I just put the pads on the surface of the soil, and they just started growing on their own!! All they need for growing are sun and water. Pretty easy!

Although I couldn't get my little guys to eat them yet.... I think the skin of the cactus is too tough for them to eat now. Maybe I'll try again when the little guys are a bit bigger!!

 

[Raymo2477]

Try shredding them on a cheese grater...it worked for me! Btw use an apple peeler to take the spine clusters off first!!!!

 

[bellyboo]

I got some of the spineless Opuntia cactus from tortoisesupply.com and I just put the pads on the surface of the soil, and they just started growing on their own!! All they need for growing are sun and water. Pretty easy!

Although I couldn't get my little guys to eat them yet.... I think the skin of the cactus is too tough for them to eat now. Maybe I'll try again when the little guys are a bit bigger!!

My little guy hasn't been overly interested, but he is a super picky eater.

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Try shredding them on a cheese grater...it worked for me! Btw use an apple peeler to take the spine clusters off first!!!!

That is a GREAT idea! Thanks!