Possible pyramiding?

[momofstitch]

I've had my sulcata since he hatched almost 10 months ago. I was told by my tortoise vet to soak him every day for 20 minutes at least, start him on lettuce. I have a humidity gauge and thermometer. It stays around 60 to 70 % humidity and the temp is around 75 at night and around 90 during the day. I let him walk around outside in my non treated yard about once a week for sun. He has a healthy appetite and is active. I am worried that he is pyramiding. I am going to start wetting his substrate every day and get him on hay. Any suggestions?

 

[JoesMum]

That's definite pyramidding.

You cannot get rid of it but you improve this little guy's care and enclosure it will become less obvious

I will dig out the care sheets.

The thing you must really pay attention to is humidity and diet.

 

[JoesMum]

There's a lotbof reading here, but it is very important.

For those who have a young Sulcata
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

How to raise a healthy Sulcata
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/


And a call out to @Tom to help

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

You can't fix the pyramiding that has already taken place, but you can try to help the new growth from now on to grow in a little smoother. What will help is humidity, not diet. Cover the top of the habitat and wet the substrate.

Lettuce and hay isn't the way to go. Here's a bit of a list to go by:

Mulberry leaves
Grape vine leaves
Hibiscus leaves
African hibiscus leaves
Blue hibiscus leaves
Rose of Sharon leaves
Rose leaves
Geraniums
Gazanias
Lavatera
Pansies
Petunias
Hostas
Honeysuckle
Cape honeysuckle
Leaves and blooms from any squash plant, like pumpkin, cucumber, summer squash, etc...
Young spineless opuntia cactus pads

Weeds:
There are soooooooo many...
Dandelion
Mallow
Filaree
Smooth Sow thistle
Prickly Sow thistle
Milk thistle
Goat head weed
Cats ear
Nettles
Trefoil
Wild onion
Wild mustard
Wild Garlic
Clovers
Broadleaf plantain
Narrow leaf plantain
Chickweed
Hawksbit
Henbit
Hawksbeard

Other good stuff:
"Testudo Seed Mix" from http://www.tortoisesupply.com/SeedMixes
Pasture mixes or other seeds from http://www.groworganic.com/seeds.html
Homegrown alfalfa
Mazuri Tortoise Chow
ZooMed Grassland Tortoise Food

 

[Speedy-1]

You need to bring the Temp. and humidity up , improve the diet . Reading the links provided will help you a lot !

 

[momofstitch]

Thanks everyone! I have gotten a spray bottle to wet the substrate every day, though I found it evaporates pretty quickly. I bought some sphagnum moss for his "house" and have moistened it. I am going to work on transitioning him to Orchard grass. Any suggestions on how to effectively get him to eat it? And I can't find anywhere on the percentage the humidity should be at in his enclosure. Thanks!

 

[JoesMum]

To keep substrate moist you need to tip water in and give it a good mix with your hands. Not too much you want damp substrate not wet.

Spraying only provides cosmetic dampness.

 

[Speedy-1]

Thanks everyone! I have gotten a spray bottle to wet the substrate every day, though I found it evaporates pretty quickly. I bought some sphagnum moss for his "house" and have moistened it. I am going to work on transitioning him to Orchard grass. Any suggestions on how to effectively get him to eat it? And I can't find anywhere on the percentage the humidity should be at in his enclosure. Thanks!

A spray bottle will just moisten the top layer , pour a cup or 2 of water right in there . I used to do this almost every other day. I got Speedy eating hay by snipping it up in tiny pieces with a scissors and soaking it. He loves Mazuri pellets , so after moistening his pellets I piled all the moistened hay on top of his pellets. He didn't care for it at first , but now he chows it right down ! Humidity should be 80 % or more , temps should be a minimum of 80 in the coolest spot in his enclosure. Remember warm and humid is good , cool and humid is bad ! I would be soaking that guy for an hour a day !