My curvy little lady

[Abeecado]

Hi

This is my first post on this forum so firstly a big hello, I've briefly looked through existing advice and info and very impressed with the content and look forward to you guys hopefully helping me!

I have two 9 year old Horsfield tortoises , brother and sister pair honey and mustard. My (not so) little lady, Mustard has put on a lot of weight over the last year and I believe started showing signs of pyramiding [emoji20] I've always fed them a mix of greens (no iceburg), weeds and the odd edible flower, and feed 6 of 7 days but her growth and weight is considerably greater than her brother. They also have calcium and nutrabol on alrernaitve feeds.

I have started to reduce her food intake and I have started to let her out of their table to give her more room to explore and move until she feels cold or goes to sleep. I'm just after a bit of reassurance and extra advice really that the weight is reversible and more importantly will this prevent any further pyramiding.

Thanks for reading

Abee

 

[jsheffield - In Memoriam]

Welcome!

Do you have pics of Honey and Mustard to share?

Thanks,

Jamie

 

[Minority2]

Diet and frequency of feedings do not cause pyramiding. Lack of humidity does. Field studies from breeders and fellow members around the world have proven this to be a fact. Female adult Russian tortoises will usually be a bit larger than male adult Russians.

1. What is the humidity level of your enclosures?

2. Are the tortoises both housed together?

3. How many times are your tortoise soaked/bathed per week?

4. What are the dimensions of their enclosures?

Picture(s) of your enclosure and lighting/heating setup will be most helpful.

Please take the time to read this care sheet for more information on Russian tortoise care. Tortoise care is always evolving, old posts on advice from years ago may not be safe or approved today:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

 

[Melis]

Welcome! Pictures would be helpful. I am wondering if the female is actually a “normal” size, and just looks large because other is smaller than he should be. This can be a sign of bullying. Is it not recommended to house torts as pairs, as one can bully the other. When you are letting the female out to roam, are you doing this outside, or on the floor in your house? Please provide pics and answer the questions asked above by minority for us to help address the pyramiding issues.

 

[JoesMum]

We need photos to be sure, but Russians don’t grow perfectly smooth. Their shells are naturally a bit rough. Pyramiding is when each scute starts to form a mound or spike.

I am concerned that one is gaining weight more than the other.

These torts are territorial and solitary. Regardless of gender and relationship another tort is a rival for territory and food and no more. They don’t need or want a friend. In the wild they roam miles, meet up to mate and move on.

When kept as pairs, bullying is common. This can be both mental and physical. Russians are one of the worst species for this with the end result being bloody fighting.

Cuddling up to sleep together isn’t cute. It’s actually one telling the other to leave.

I recommend you read this link and separate these tortoises
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/w...together-a-lesson-learned-the-hard-way.94114/