Pyramiding shell

[kkwonger14]

Hi,

I got this little dude from my friend's grandparents who have had a pair of sulcatas for 60+ years and they just had their first brood that hatched! I guess they e had a bunch of eggs before that never hatched and they thought their pair of sulcatas were both female?

Anyway....long story short....the little hatchling they gave my kids as a gift already had pretty bad pyramiding when we got it. I assume this denting on the side is the result of the pyramiding? What do you think? How does he look?

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

What does the side profile look like? Do you know how old the tortoise is? How much does it weigh?

I will tag @Tom to take a look.

 

[Tom]

Hi,

I got this little dude from my friend's grandparents who have had a pair of sulcatas for 60+ years and they just had their first brood that hatched! I guess they e had a bunch of eggs before that never hatched and they thought their pair of sulcatas were both female?

Anyway....long story short....the little hatchling they gave my kids as a gift already had pretty bad pyramiding when we got it. I assume this denting on the side is the result of the pyramiding? What do you think? How does he look?

View attachment 389669View attachment 389670View attachment 389671

Hello and welcome. Your friend's grandparents have not had them for 60+ years. Sulcata only became readily available around 1990, so the oldest ones in private hands can only be around 35 at this point. There was rare exception before that point, but those are all accounted for.

Few people, even long time keepers, understand how to properly care for this species and how to properly start the babies. The usual result is what you are seeing. Try to get them to come here and learn how to care for their adults correctly, how to incubate and hatch the eggs, and how to start their beautiful babies correctly. And if they've truly had these sulcata since 1965 or earlier, we would all love to know the details. Man, that would be an awesome story.

I can only guess, but that side dent looks like this baby had some sort of crushing injury when it was little. Maybe a dog bit it, it got stepped on, crushed in a closing door somehow, etc... The extensive pyramiding tells us that it was not started correctly and has not been raised or cared for correctly. You can't undo the past, but you can certainly learn what to do now and create the most optimal conditions going forward. These two threads will catch you up to speed. Realize that most of the info you find out in the world from most sources will be wrong. As you read these threads, much of the info will be different from what you may have seen elsewhere. These assertions are based on 34 years of keeping this species, hatching over 1000 babies, and decades of research and experimentation with the hatchlings and adults to determine what works best and why. All of your questions are welcome:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

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...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Markw84]

Yes, it is pyramided quite severely. The dent in the left side is not from pyramiding, but appears to be from metabolic bone disease - lack of calcium/D3 as it grew. IT could also be an old injury since only one side. Could tell more from a side view photo. It is young enough for you to moderate this with proper care - diet, humidity, etc.

I would be most interested in hearing more about the friend's grandparents. The first sulcatas I know of imported into the US was just about 40 years ago. Early 1980's. Would love to know how they got their sulcatas??

 

[kkwonger14]

What does the side profile look like? Do you know how old the tortoise is? How much does it weigh?

I will tag @Tom to take a look.

He's probably 8 months maybe? I have no idea how much he weighs....

 

[kkwonger14]

Hello and welcome. Your friend's grandparents have not had them for 60+ years. Sulcata only became readily available around 1990, so the oldest ones in private hands can only be around 35 at this point. There was rare exception before that point, but those are all accounted for.

Few people, even long time keepers, understand how to properly care for this species and how to properly start the babies. The usual result is what you are seeing. Try to get them to come here and learn how to care for their adults correctly, how to incubate and hatch the eggs, and how to start their beautiful babies correctly. And if they've truly had these sulcata since 1965 or earlier, we would all love to know the details. Man, that would be an awesome story.

I can only guess, but that side dent looks like this baby had some sort of crushing injury when it was little. Maybe a dog bit it, it got stepped on, crushed in a closing door somehow, etc... The extensive pyramiding tells us that it was not started correctly and has not been raised or cared for correctly. You can't undo the past, but you can certainly learn what to do now and create the most optimal conditions going forward. These two threads will catch you up to speed. Realize that most of the info you find out in the world from most sources will be wrong. As you read these threads, much of the info will be different from what you may have seen elsewhere. These assertions are based on 34 years of keeping this species, hatching over 1000 babies, and decades of research and experimentation with the hatchlings and adults to determine what works best and why. All of your questions are welcome:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

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...

tortoiseforum.org

Hi,

Well with this knowledge I'm sure my friend is exaggerating. But she said the pair of torts were her grandparents....who knows how they got them. They're old Japanese farmers who came to California from Japan by way of Hawaii.

Either way, they just keep these big giants in their backyard, no special set ups and feed them lettuce and just let them eat the weeds and grass that grow out there.

I have this little baby set up with humidity, heat and uva/uvb bulbs. The pyramiding is definitely better than when I got him.

Thanks!!

 

[kkwonger14]

Yes, it is pyramided quite severely. The dent in the left side is not from pyramiding, but appears to be from metabolic bone disease - lack of calcium/D3 as it grew. IT could also be an old injury since only one side. Could tell more from a side view photo. It is young enough for you to moderate this with proper care - diet, humidity, etc.

I would be most interested in hearing more about the friend's grandparents. The first sulcatas I know of imported into the US was just about 40 years ago. Early 1980's. Would love to know how they got their sulcatas??

Hi,

He's on a good diet now, but I guess I can't undo the past. He's got mazura pellets, lettuce, grass, hay to eat. His set up is good now and humidity is regulated. Uva/uvb bulbs.

I'll ask my friend for her grandparents story since she says that's who the torts were from.....

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Wasn't able to open the file, might be a problem on my part.

He's probably 8 months maybe? I have no idea how much he weighs....

 

[Tom]

Hi,

He's on a good diet now, but I guess I can't undo the past. He's got mazura pellets, lettuce, grass, hay to eat. His set up is good now and humidity is regulated. Uva/uvb bulbs.

I'll ask my friend for her grandparents story since she says that's who the torts were from.....

Hay is for older larger sulcatas. I don't begin to introduce dry hay until they are over 12 inches. The threads that I linked for you will explain the best diet more fully.