Is my tortoise pyramiding?

[csihanat]

Hi,

I got my sulcata in Dec last year. There was a little bit of pyramiding when then and I am wondering if it has gotten worse and how bad is it?

First day

2 months ago

Latest


Secondly, he is should be about 10 months old but seems relatively small (160g), my other tortoises grew much faster. Thanks for your help.

 

[kjr153]

I wish someone would respond to your post. I want to know as well. My Sulcata is the same size of yours in the third pic. The shell looks the exact same as well. Raised a little but not enough to know if it is pyramiding. Mine also has very prominent growth rings.

 

[theelectraco]

Yes it is pyramiding and it has gotten worse from the first picture. If you keep the humidity up you can stop it from worsening. How are you raising your sulcata? Dry or humid?

 

[csihanat]

Hi,

I keep him outdoors so exact humidity levels do vary, but humidity was 80% today. He is soaked and shell misted daily. He has also recently been to the vet for an x-ray which showed no abnormalities. As far as I understand, MBD is a problem with bone density and will show up in x-rays.

 

[Tom]

Yes he is mildly pyramiding. Its not bad though, and it should not affect his health if all else is good.

Babies kept outdoors all day tend to grow slower and usually pyramid worse. Does he sleep inside? Having a warm, humid indoor enclosure with a proper humid hide box will go a long way toward smoothing out his growth.

The links in my signature are full of ways to do this.

 

[csihanat]

Yes he is mildly pyramiding. Its not bad though, and it should not affect his health if all else is good.

Babies kept outdoors all day tend to grow slower and usually pyramid worse. Does he sleep inside? Having a warm, humid indoor enclosure with a proper humid hide box will go a long way toward smoothing out his growth.

The links in my signature are full of ways to do this.

No he currently sleeps outsides. I thought that it would be better for him to live outside to get adequate vitamin d. However, if living indoor would be better it can be done.

 

[Tom]

In our North American backyards we cannot simulate what baby sulcatas need to grow normally and smoothly. Basically we need to be simulating the African rainy season. Hot, humid, lots of water, lots of food. Vitamin D needs can be met by two 20 minute sunning sessions a week. More is better, but that much will get it done. I do an hour or two a day outside for hatchlings up until they get around 4". At that point, usually around 5-6 months, I start leaving them out longer and longer, until they are out all day every day by the time they reach 6". During all this time, they sleep inside their humid closed chambers inside their warm humid hide boxes. Once they hit 8-10" and the weather and season are right, I move them outside full time.

Where do you live? How is he kept warm outside at night?

 

[csihanat]

I am from Thailand, so the ambient temperature now is between 27-37 C with humidity at 75%. We keep him in the shade during the hottest times of the day and he has constant access to water and shelter. I will take your advice to keep him indoors to keep a better control over his environment. Thanks for the help