Pyramiding question

[Masin]

Don't get discouraged. Keep him hydrated, humid, and warm. When my tortoise was about a year old I was just starting to see some sign of smooth growth. I had found this forum when he was about 8-9 months old and was attempting to change him to a more humid environment. Here he is at about 1 year.

You can notice the pyramiding. Many people on this forum said he looked good, and that is because some pyramiding was the norm. Everything that I did to stop the pyramiding I learned here, from the members of this forum. I had to find a way to keep the humidity very high. That lead me to building a closed chamber for anytime that he was not outdoors. I used a mister to spray his shell and keep the enclosure very moist. Next, I had to get him more sun and exercise, that lead me to build an outdoor pen that was safe to leave him unattended for hours. His diet needed improvement so I bought Mazuri to supplement his diet. Then I planted his outdoor pen with a grazing tortoise seed mix. Then, for the next year soaked him and took him out everyday and brought him in every night to a humid enclosure.
Here he is at 2-plus years:

The pyramiding is still there, but the new growth has been smooth. Like I said, I ( or rather Chuck the tortoise) owes it all to the members of this forum.

What a good read and love the pictures. I'm in the same boat right now so it's nice to see what another year or so will look like!

 

[Dizisdalife]

The hide should make him feel safe and secure. Make sure it is dark (or at least dimmer than the rest of the enclosure). To get him to use it you may need to take away all other hiding spots except the one you want him to use. The ones I made were all plastic. I covered the top with aluminum foil to block out the MVB that I was using for basking.

 

[Ruchonnet]

The hide should make him feel safe and secure. Make sure it is dark (or at least dimmer than the rest of the enclosure). To get him to use it you may need to take away all other hiding spots except the one you want him to use. The ones I made were all plastic. I covered the top with aluminum foil to block out the MVB that I was using for basking.

His hide is on the opposite side from his light. And the top is covered with his bedding to make it dark. But it is see through on the sides. So I might cover it with foil like you mentioned!!

 

[FlapJackrage]

That looks pretty bad. But at least now you know for future references to keep your babies in a hot and humid enclosure.

 

[Tom]

Joe, what a fantastic success story! He wasn't looking so great in the first pic and a pattern for pyramided growth was already pretty well set. Just a year later and he looks fantastic! He looks like there was never a problem. Thanks for sharing this. In this case a couple of pictures is worth a thousand PAGES of words. I have typed and typed and typed for years, and your two pictures all by themselves say sooooooo much more. Thank you!

 

[Dizisdalife]

Joe, what a fantastic success story! He wasn't looking so great in the first pic and a pattern for pyramided growth was already pretty well set. Just a year later and he looks fantastic! He looks like there was never a problem. Thanks for sharing this. In this case a couple of pictures is worth a thousand PAGES of words. I have typed and typed and typed for years, and your two pictures all by themselves say sooooooo much more. Thank you!

Tom, It was your post that I read that convinced me to adopt the "wet" method. You told a story about Daisy and how she was pyramided when you got her and how much she improved by keeping her hydrated. That story motivated me to change my setup and add water. The first thing that happened was the tortoise got cold while damp and that lead to a bout with an URI, but I learned from it. Got to keep them warm and moist, and not just moist. Chuck helped a bunch by soaking himself for hours every day. He still likes to come inside every morning and soak for 40 minutes or so while I get ready for work.

 

[Annaliisas]

Tom, It was your post that I read that convinced me to adopt the "wet" method. You told a story about Daisy and how she was pyramided when you got her and how much she improved by keeping her hydrated. That story motivated me to change my setup and add water. The first thing that happened was the tortoise got cold while damp and that lead to a bout with an URI, but I learned from it. Got to keep them warm and moist, and not just moist. Chuck helped a bunch by soaking himself for hours every day. He still likes to come inside every morning and soak for 40 minutes or so while I get ready for work.

How do I get mine to like soaking? I take home inside and stop up one side of the sink and run warm water in it. He does poop so I have to drain and refill. But he tries to climb out constantly. I guess I will just have to keep at it. He definitely needs it since we are in such a dry climate. He just puts dirt into his water in his enclosure it doesnt stay clean enough to drink.

 

[Ruchonnet]

How do I get mine to like soaking? I take home inside and stop up one side of the sink and run warm water in it. He does poop so I have to drain and refill. But he tries to climb out constantly. I guess I will just have to keep at it. He definitely needs it since we are in such a dry climate. He just puts dirt into his water in his enclosure it doesnt stay clean enough to drink.

Don't take my word for it but I don't think you have to dump the water if he's done business in there. Mine also hates soakings but I haven't found anything to help with it.

 

[Tom]

Just time. Time helps with it. Technically it's called desensitization.