Pyramiding, going bad to getting better

[Len B]

Here are some pics of a tortoise that I received in 2010 that had slight pyramiding at that time. I tried the hot and humid enclosure setup with overhead heat, It wasn't working for me, I am not sure why, but as time went on the pyramiding seemed to be getting worse. I have been working to try to smooth the shell a little with a more gentle heat and have made some progress,It will always have some signs of my mistakes but will be as healthy as I can make it. The first pic was taken in Sept 2010, the next was in July 2011, and the last ones were taken today, I added the last pic hoping for some thoughts on its sex. (9 inches and heavy). I live near Wash DC so there are at least 5 months of the year were it gets outside time only when weather permits.

 

[Yvonne G]

I'm goin' with male.

 

[mattgrizzlybear]

It is so great that you are helping them!

 

[wellington]

I'm guessing female

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Btw she is very nice looking.

 

[Tom]

Trying to stop pyramiding already in progress is very difficult. I've been able to do it by going way overboard with the soaks, spraying and humidity, but it takes a long time and involves much more "wetness" than would normally be expected.

The overhead heat thing is a vexing problem. What was your basking temp under the lamp? I'm having great results with low wattage flood bulbs in my closed chambers. The amount of heat and wattage needed in an open topped enclosure wasn't working very well for me either.

Thanks for sharing your experience with us Len.

 

[luvpetz27]

They are both beautiful!!

 

[Len B]

First, All the pics are of the same tortoise. Tom, I don't remember the exact temp under the basking light, but it was in the 90s, I am now fazing out the overhead hot heat source by using more bottom heat and heat from the drying rods in the small enclosures and small oil filled heaters in the larger ones along with a higher temp in the whole room(garage) I keep my house at 75 degrees pretty much all year, so it is easy to regulate temps in the small enclosures that are in the living area of the house, the garage where the others are, the temps vary at different heights from the floor to ceiling, at 5 to 6 feet from the floor it hangs at about 90 degrees and the floor is in the mid to upper 70s. I use self regulating heated tiles and 60 and 75 watt black lights to give them warm spots if they want to warm up. I am now trying to come up with a way to do away with the black lights for next winter.