Does pyramiding affect long term health?

[spannerpuss]

Hi everyone, I'm quite new to this forum! I own one tortoise now after rehoming my other male due to fighting. My remaining tortoise has some deformity but the other one didn't, they were raised together since hatching back in 2009, same enclosure, same lighting, same food. Has anyone got any idea why one had irregular growth and the other was ok? They weren't kept in ideal conditions (inc food) for the first year of their life but have been well looked after since then. Also, will the pyramiding that my tortoise has experienced have an ongoing detrimental effect on his health if he's now looked after properly? I've attached some pics.

Many thanks
Anna
Uk

 

[Laura]

short answer... No...but it depends what caused it an how bad it is.

 

[wellington]

short answer... No...but it depends what caused it an how bad it is.

DITTO

 

[Tom]

No one really knows. There have been no definitive studies on this. The bone structure is definitely different on a pyramided tort. It is porous vs. dense on a normal one.

As far as any of us can tell, it is only cosmetic, and does no long term damage as long as the tort has always had lots of sunshine, hydration and a good diet.

As to why one did and the other didn't, yours makes for an interesting case. Can I ask a few questions?
Did one of them seem to drink or eat more than the other?
Which one was the more dominant one?
Where did each one typically sleep in the enclosure?
What size was their enclosure?
Did they get time in an outdoor enclosure too?

Maybe the answers to these questions will spark some insight.

 

[Jacqui]

I would also guess no, it's not going to give long term problems. The reason for it, however may cause long term problems on it's own. I am not sure how to explain it except to go to humans and use the common cold. The cold itself does not usually cause any long term problem, but if the reason you caught that cold was a low immunity level and it is still low, then that can cause future problems.

Keep in mind you need to stop beating yourself up in any way. You can't change the past and you have since learned from your mistakes and have corrected them and continue to learn and correct even more. Focus on that, the things you can do.

 

[spannerpuss]

Thanks for your replies! It's a shame that for their first year they were at my work and I was not responsible for their care. But since then they had been in an indoor enclosure which was about 8ft by 2ft with supervised access to the garden when the weather was nice. The one I kept now predominantly lives outside but still comes in in bad weather. The non-deformed one was most dominant but it was the deformed one who ate more! They used to sleep in the same house until the fighting started and then they used to sleep separately (they always had access to two houses).

I hope that he will not suffer any ill effects from this

 

[Madkins007]

This is entirely my personal opinion, but I think that if the ONLY deformity is the raised areas, then it probably has no health effects... by itself.

But...

1. Whatever TRIGGERED the pyramids- like dehydration, poor diet, or whatever- may itself have caused health issues, and...

2. If the problem is more severe- the shell is sunken in the middle or otherwise deformed beyond the raised areas- then there are probably complications from the more severe metabolic bone disease going on.

 

[spannerpuss]

Thanks! It is just the raised areas, there are no other deformities, no dips, no soft shell or anything like that and he's of average weight on the Jackson scale. I think it could be due to him not getting outside enough at first and for the first year I think he was fed purely on mixed lettuce leaves and veg. It's just strange that his brother was kept in exactly the same conditions but did not experience the same thing, although his brothers shell is not as smooth as it should be for the breed. I think it may have been a case of selective feeding.