Pyramiding?

[Isa]

I wanted to have opinions about Hermy and Popcorns shell. When I got Hermy, he had pyramiding so I know he has, but I want to know how bad it is?
Popcorn will be 4 months old and I would like to make sure his shell is ok.
Opinions are welcome

That is my big guy Hermy

That is my little one Popcorn

Plus I am kind of worried about Hermys plastron, it seems like there are cracks in it, I will take a pic tomorrow and post it.

Thanks

 

[ChiKat]

It looks to me like Popcorn's new growth is very smooth!! You're doing a great job with him
He has the most adorable little face too!
You should post pictures of Hermy and Popcorn more often- they're adorable ;D

 

[Candy]

Hermy looks good to me Isa. His shell is so shiny! Popcorn is soooo tiny and cute. His little face is adorable and he looks good to me too.

 

[Tom]

Hermy has got some pyramiding, but as long as all else is good, remember that its only cosmetic as far as we know.

I can't tell too much from the one pic of popcorn. Are you able to get an unobstructed profile shot? Are you seeing something that concerns you?

 

[Torty Mom]

So cute, popcorn is adorable!!! What a sweet face!!

 

[Isa]

Thanks everyone
Tom, when I got Hermy, they were feeding him dog and cat food, his weight was 79.83grams, now his weight is 603grams. what do you think of the new growth, do you still see pyramiding?
In Popcorn, what concerns me is I see bumps, so I am not sure if it is pyramiding or just normal growth.
Here are more pics

Here are some Hermys plastron picture (do you guys see the cracks I am talking about) There is a big crack in the middle but he has that since maybe 2 years, the vet told me it was ok, there was no problem with this crack.

Thanks

 

[ChiKat]

I sometimes have trouble looking at pictures of certain species- Hermanns and Greeks mostly- to see if there's pyramiding, because the pattern of their shells can makes it difficult to tell!
Is Popcorn's shell bumpy? Are there ridges between the individual scutes or is it smooth?

 

[Isa]

Hmm I think I can see ridges, we do not see them easily but I think they are there.
Candy, Hermy has a shiny shell because when he goes in his bath, I gently pour water on his shell to remove the aspen dust

 

[tortoisenerd]

I think what you are seeing in Popcorn's shell is space between the scutes (normal...they fill in more as the shell continues to grow). If the middle part of the scute was higher than the edges, that would be pyramiding (like you see in Hermy's old growth, but the new growth is coming in nice and smooth). That little crack on Hermy's shell looks nice and healed, and it looks like it was never too deep either. No big deal at all...they get much worse damage in the wild. I don't see anything bad going on for either tort.

I have seen much worse pyramiding on the forum compared to Hermy's...good thing is you don't see that characteristic MBD shape (the slope of the shell down from head to feet). Its more int he mild shape really because its just those very top scutes, and the only reason it might be pretty noticeable is just because of the shape of the shell in whatever Hermanns subspecies Hermy is, where its a tall shell (reminds me of leopard torts!).

Very nice!

 

[Isa]

Thanks Kate, I am feeling better
MBD was one of my worried with Hermy because the way he was when I bought him and with what they told me they were feeding him, I was concerned he would one day have MBD. But the more he is getting bigger, the more I feel better about his shell .

 

[tortoises101]

Hermy's shell is fine. As long as his shell doesn't look "compressed" or toppling over, he's not suffering from MBD.
Popcorn looks great too! The gaps are nothing to worry about. Many young tortoises have these, but it will fade/disappear when they get older.

Great work raising the torts!

 

[Isa]

Thanks Tortoises101

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

A lady in the DFW Turtle & Tortoise Club has an adult male Hermanns with much more pronounced pyramiding than Hermie has and he's been living the good life in that condition for at east 35 years (when she adopted him), so set your mind at ease, Isa...the little dude will likely out live both of us!

Popcorn looks even better!

 

[Isa]

Thanks Terry