Is this normal?

[erica anne]

I have asked before but theses raised bumps in between scutes looks very strange to me. I don't see these on anyone else's torts. Is this normal??

 

[Yvonne G]

It's a little bit of pyramiding. Are you keeping the tortoise in a moist environment?

 

[erica anne]

We have changed his enclosure to be able to keep him in a moist environment with higher humidity. I thought that the pyramiding was going away but then I noticed that he has a thick, raised bumps in between his scutes. Is this just new growth? Is it going to turn into more pyramiding? And thank you very much for responding!

 

[wellington]

Pyramiding does not go away. The new growth can be improved and the hope is that over time the pyramiding will not show as much. However, what you are seeing all has to do with growth and pyramiding. How old is your tort? You only have until they are around two years old to improve the pyramiding. The humidity needs to be 80% with temps no lower then 80. At the very least a humid hide that he sleeps in.

 

[sibi]

What you are seeing with the raised growth lines is more pyramiding, although slight. I suspect that your tort is still a bit dry either because his enclosure is still not humid enough, or he's not drinking enough, or both. Do you have a gauge to register heat and humidity? Do you have a temp gun?

 

[erica anne]

Pyramiding does not go away. The new growth can be improved and the hope is that over time the pyramiding will not show as much. However, what you are seeing all has to do with growth and pyramiding. How old is your tort? You only have until they are around two years old to improve the pyramiding. The humidity needs to be 80% with temps no lower then 80. At the very least a humid hide that he sleeps in.

He is about two years old. We are continuing humidity because Tom said it would help until they were about 10-12 inches and Franklin is about 5 3/4 in. I know the old pyramiding will only improve in looks as they grow but will never totally go away. I was hoping that the new growth was not new pyramiding. Is that why those lines are raised? New pyramiding? Or is it just normal growth? I haven't seen enough pics of other torts his age to know if that is normal.

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Pyramiding does not go away. The new growth can be improved and the hope is that over time the pyramiding will not show as much. However, what you are seeing all has to do with growth and pyramiding. How old is your tort? You only have until they are around two years old to improve the pyramiding. The humidity needs to be 80% with temps no lower then 80. At the very least a humid hide that he sleeps in.

He is about two years old. We are continuing humidity because Tom said it would help until they were about 10-12 inches and Franklin is about 5 3/4 in. I know the old pyramiding will only improve in looks as they grow but will never totally go away. I was hoping that the new growth was not new pyramiding. Is that why those lines are raised? New pyramiding? Or is it just normal growth? I haven't seen enough pics of other torts his age to know if that is normal.

He does have a humid hide and we spray him and his cage down several times a day. His temps never go below 80. It just seems like he is looking worse not better ( because if the raised lines).

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It's a little bit of pyramiding. Are you keeping the tortoise in a moist environment?

He has a humid hide and we spray him and his enclosure down several times a day. This seems like even more pyramiding than he had before

---

What you are seeing with the raised growth lines is more pyramiding, although slight. I suspect that your tort is still a bit dry either because his enclosure is still not humid enough, or he's not drinking enough, or both. Do you have a gauge to register heat and humidity? Do you have a temp gun?

Thank you for responding! I don't have a temp gun but I have gauges. Heat is within normal ranges but I do have a hard time keeping humidity up. It is usually between 70-80%. I have to spray the cage down a lot. Should I keep his substrate more wet?

 

[sibi]

First of all, you do need to get a temp gun. There's different temps in the enclosure, especially where the basking or UVb lighting is at. It is vital that you get a temp gun which you can get at home depots for a few bucks. If you are using an enclosure that had the top exposed, you may need to cover it more than half way in order to hold in the heat and humidity. Tom says that you'll never get the humidity right unless you have a closed chamber. But, you can get higher humidity levels by getting a fogger. Those can be purchased at PETsMART for about $60. It's pricey but it will give your tort better humidity than constant sprays. Remember that keeping the substrate moist is only recommended if your temps are 80 degrees or higher. You never want your tort in a cold, wet enclosure. That's what causes sickness.

The raised growth lines don't look bad, it's just not ad smooth as you'd like to see it. Do all the above recommended things, and your tort's shell will begin to blend in better.

Pyramiding does not go away. The new growth can be improved and the hope is that over time the pyramiding will not show as much. However, what you are seeing all has to do with growth and pyramiding. How old is your tort? You only have until they are around two years old to improve the pyramiding. The humidity needs to be 80% with temps no lower then 80. At the very least a humid hide that he sleeps in.

He is about two years old. We are continuing humidity because Tom said it would help until they were about 10-12 inches and Franklin is about 5 3/4 in. I know the old pyramiding will only improve in looks as they grow but will never totally go away. I was hoping that the new growth was not new pyramiding. Is that why those lines are raised? New pyramiding? Or is it just normal growth? I haven't seen enough pics of other torts his age to know if that is normal.

---

Pyramiding does not go away. The new growth can be improved and the hope is that over time the pyramiding will not show as much. However, what you are seeing all has to do with growth and pyramiding. How old is your tort? You only have until they are around two years old to improve the pyramiding. The humidity needs to be 80% with temps no lower then 80. At the very least a humid hide that he sleeps in.

He is about two years old. We are continuing humidity because Tom said it would help until they were about 10-12 inches and Franklin is about 5 3/4 in. I know the old pyramiding will only improve in looks as they grow but will never totally go away. I was hoping that the new growth was not new pyramiding. Is that why those lines are raised? New pyramiding? Or is it just normal growth? I haven't seen enough pics of other torts his age to know if that is normal.

He does have a humid hide and we spray him and his cage down several times a day. His temps never go below 80. It just seems like he is looking worse not better ( because if the raised lines).

---

It's a little bit of pyramiding. Are you keeping the tortoise in a moist environment?

He has a humid hide and we spray him and his enclosure down several times a day. This seems like even more pyramiding than he had before

---

What you are seeing with the raised growth lines is more pyramiding, although slight. I suspect that your tort is still a bit dry either because his enclosure is still not humid enough, or he's not drinking enough, or both. Do you have a gauge to register heat and humidity? Do you have a temp gun?

Thank you for responding! I don't have a temp gun but I have gauges. Heat is within normal ranges but I do have a hard time keeping humidity up. It is usually between 70-80%. I have to spray the cage down a lot. Should I keep his substrate more wet?

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[Tom]

Raised, thickened concentric growth rings are not necessarily bad. Give it some time. Often the new growth swells out like that and then sort of "deflates" in time. Its really kind of a good sign in that the moisture content in the keratin now seems high enough to allow some flexibility to the growing and expanding tissue. It can take months or years to really see a difference.

And besides all of that, if all else is good (diet, exercise, sunshine, hydration), this level of pyramiding is only cosmetic and you should have a healthy, happy tortoise there! Don't stress too much. Just give him the right conditions, and all will be fine. Enjoy your tortoise. He doesn't care one bit about whether or not his growth rings are raised...

A comment about pyramiding: Pyramiding is not an "event". Is is a long slow process. It shows the effect of a pattern that develops over time. As such, this long term pattern does not just instantly stop as soon as conditions are corrected. Think of it like a giant heavy pendulum. The bigger it is and the more momentum it has, that harder it is to stop it. Also the "force" used to slow that pendulum is also highly variable. Moderate force will result in a longer time frame to stop it. Heavy duty force will stop it sooner. There is a HUGE difference between PREVENTING pyramiding and STOPPING pyramiding already in progress.

 

[erica anne]

Raised, thickened concentric growth rings are not necessarily bad. Give it some time. Often the new growth swells out like that and then sort of "deflates" in time. Its really kind of a good sign in that the moisture content in the keratin now seems high enough to allow some flexibility to the growing and expanding tissue. It can take months or years to really see a difference.

And besides all of that, if all else is good (diet, exercise, sunshine, hydration), this level of pyramiding is only cosmetic and you should have a healthy, happy tortoise there! Don't stress too much. Just give him the right conditions, and all will be fine. Enjoy your tortoise. He doesn't care one bit about whether or not his growth rings are raised...

A comment about pyramiding: Pyramiding is not an "event". Is is a long slow process. It shows the effect of a pattern that develops over time. As such, this long term pattern does not just instantly stop as soon as conditions are corrected. Think of it like a giant heavy pendulum. The bigger it is and the more momentum it has, that harder it is to stop it. Also the "force" used to slow that pendulum is also highly variable. Moderate force will result in a longer time frame to stop it. Heavy duty force will stop it sooner. There is a HUGE difference between PREVENTING pyramiding and STOPPING pyramiding already in progress.

This helps a lot. I just want him to be happy and healthy. Thank you!