Better pictures would help, but all I can see is the growth rings in the scutes
Ok thank you so muchok, so he definitely is showing signs of pyramiding. He could use more soaks and higher overall humidity. It won't change the past but can help the future growth. Give the care sheet a good read:
The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise
I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...www.tortoiseforum.org
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Hello i appreciate the time you put in to reply, thank you! I am located in San jose which is west-central California. I agree that in the first picture the pyramiding was more noticeable and that picture was actually from a couple months ago. However, the first picture is from today. Glad to hear that it has gotten much better ! I will definitely follow those tips you mentioned for the drying !Your tortoise had been pyramding slightly to moderately its first year and a half, but since then it has smoother out much more to where it really isn't pyramiding much not at all. That is normal for sulcatas once they reach about 10"-12" and go outdoors full time if they have an area with good growth, plants and hides. We can normally recommend more if we know where you are located as climate is the determining factor once you move a tortoise outdoors. You put "california" as your location, but that does not help at all. California is a big state with almost every climate represented within the state - from Alpine to desert.
There is definitely no shell rot. The shell looks healthy but a bit dry. Shell rot is pretty rare in sulcatas, and if it does show up, it would be on the plastron, never the carapace. At the size of your sulcata, soaking once a week is pretty much a good routine, but if you are in a drier area, and by the look of the shell, I would get the hose and make it rain for your sulcata several times a day. I set my sprinklers in the warmer times of year to come on for 1 minute 5 times a day. Provide as much humidity as you can in the night box as well. They should rest in a humid environment.
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