Pyramiding opinion please..

[DonaTello's-Mom]

Here's my DonaTello (sulcata) 8 months ago when I first got him. As you can see he was starting to pyramid.........

Here he is now and I think he looks great... He's housed on moist substrate and misted several
times a day with a spray bottle and gets plenty of California sunshine! He's vacationing at Jeff's
home in Sunny San Diego...and loving it!

I see a big difference in his shell growth, it's smooth! Sooooo, can you guys (Tom?) see the difference?
I'd really love to hear any opinions please!!.....thanks

 

[Missy]

I can see that the new growth looks smooth, great job

 

[Tom]

Hi Jilly. This is similar to what I've experienced with my three year old, Daisy. I think you caught yours earlier, got yours wetter sooner, and did a better job of stopping it early than I did. There is definitely an improvement and Donnatello will probably be a very nice looking adult. I love the color, BTW.

 

[jensgotfaith]

The new growth does look smooth. Great job Jilly! I love the colors too!

 

[terryo]

She looks great! But I have a question.....when is a person able to breath easier? When can you say...OK he's past the stage where you have to worry about pyramiding? Does he have to be fully grown?

 

[DonaTello's-Mom]

She looks great! But I have a question.....when is a person able to breath easier? When can you say...OK he's past the stage where you have to worry about pyramiding? Does he have to be fully grown?

You hit the nail on the head Terry...does anyone know? And thanks everyone for your input.. I love his color too, I thought all sullies were this color until Jeff (N2TORTS) showed me the difference.....my Donnie is more of a 'honey' color and I love it. I truly believe he looks and feels good due to all the great information I've read on this forum... Everyone is so helpful!.... And Tom, the humidity/moisture issue is a big factor in their growth as you already know...the proof is in the pictures. It really blew my mind when I looked at his before and after pictures, the new growth is VERY smooth.....so kewl!..

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Hi Jilly. This is similar to what I've experienced with my three year old, Daisy. I think you caught yours earlier, got yours wetter sooner, and did a better job of stopping it early than I did. There is definitely an improvement and Donnatello will probably be a very nice looking adult. I love the color, BTW.

Do you have any pictures of Daisy? Before and after shots? I'm real curious to see if her new growth is similar to my Donnies..

 

[Tom]

She looks great! But I have a question.....when is a person able to breath easier? When can you say...OK he's past the stage where you have to worry about pyramiding? Does he have to be fully grown?

You hit the nail on the head Terry...does anyone know? And thanks everyone for your input.. I love his color too, I thought all sullies were this color until Jeff (N2TORTS) showed me the difference.....my Donnie is more of a 'honey' color and I love it. I truly believe he looks and feels good due to all the great information I've read on this forum... Everyone is so helpful!.... And Tom, the humidity/moisture issue is a big factor in their growth as you already know...the proof is in the pictures. It really blew my mind when I looked at his before and after pictures, the new growth is VERY smooth.....so kewl!..

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Hi Jilly. This is similar to what I've experienced with my three year old, Daisy. I think you caught yours earlier, got yours wetter sooner, and did a better job of stopping it early than I did. There is definitely an improvement and Donnatello will probably be a very nice looking adult. I love the color, BTW.

Do you have any pictures of Daisy? Before and after shots? I'm real curious to see if her new growth is similar to my Donnies..

---

TerryO and Jilly, I believe the "breath easy" period is around 6-8" for sulcatas. Most breeders and experienced keepers that I have talked to agree on these numbers. We used to get 4-6" smooth wild caughts in the old days and nothing you did could make them pyramid. I also believe that this size coincides with when they would be above ground foraging more and more in the wild. Its not that uncommon to see an 8" sulcata walking around in the wild. It is VERY uncommon to see a 2 or 3" baby above ground.

Jilly, I do have pics of Daisy and I'm trying to find the time to sit down and do a proper thread on this comparing her to my new hatchlings. Hopefully soon.