Any help would be appreciated.
How can i tell if pyramiding has started or not?
To answer your question directly - How can YOU tell...
This is what I look for:
You need to look at how the new growth has come in between the individual scutes. Pyramiding will actually have almost steps going downwards between the scutes. In a younger tortoise like yours, where the new growth isn't that much wider than the original size of the scute, it will form what looks like little plateaus and the new growth is growing downward into valleys. Although your picture is not a great side view, I have used it to show what I am referring to. As @Tom mentioned, it does look like the last new growth sections at the very seams are coming in straighter. You can see at the pink arrows the steps created. As each scute grows, the new growth at the seams expands out from the bottom of the older keratin layed down previously. Normally, new keratin will swell with moisture, and fill in up to the height of the previous keratin. When pyramiding occurs, the new keratin does not swell upwards, but instead all the swelling is downward. In my opinion, this is caused by the very new kerating drying out and becoming too stiff too soon, while the bottom of the keratin layer still accepts moisture from beneath and continues to swell and expand. The only way it can go is downward since the top is no longer pliable. This created a deeper and deeper valley as it grows.
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I just went out a grabbed one of my yearling sulcatas to show the difference below. You can see how much straighter the growth between the scutes has come in. And because the keratin is not allowed to dry out, the top and bottom will swell normally and equally - filling in straight across. In fact you can see at the arrows, it creates a series of ridges that actually push up as the new keratin forms and hardens naturally. Not steps downward, but ridges straight across.
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@MesaSully The homework and all the study has already been done. @Tom in 2010 put it all to rest in my opinion and so openly exposed his test to the scrutiny of everyone. Pyramiding is not a terrible thing in and of itself, but an indicator of how close to "ideal" the environment we are creating for our tortoise is. My thoughts for you...A picture is worth a thousand words. Thanks. I got homework to do.