Question about pyramiding

[Anna!]

How early can you detect pyramiding in a baby sulcata? Best guess says she is about three months old and I don't know if it is too early to tell if her shell is in trouble. I don't know about her moisture exposure before I got her. I got her at a reptile expo ten days ago and she was in an open top box with paper towels for substrate and no water dish. I don't know if that is indicative of how she was raised since birth or just how she was at the expo since it wasn't her normal habitat. There is a definite space between the edges of each scute but I don't know what is normal or not. Here is the best picture I can get. Thanks!

 

[Yvonne G]

Hard to tell looking straight down like that. But it does look a bit like the new growth is lower than the surrounding scutes. I think you've caught it in time.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Your little buddy seems fine.

 

[Tom]

You can tell with the very first growth line. This one looks okay, but there is another problem... At three months old you should have a few growth lines. So either they lied about the age (my suspicion) or this baby is not growing.

Show us a plastron pic and I'll bet we can guess for you.

 

[Anna!]

I hope she is growing! I've been weighing her since she got here and so far she has gained 1/8 of an ounce (not much, but it's only been ten days!). I am not familiar with what a growth line is, but I will be looking it up as soon as I post this plastron picture!

 

[Tom]

Yeah. You've got a very young one there. Probably hatched two weeks ago. This is not a bad thing. It means it was subjected to the wrong treatment at the breeders place for a shorter amount of time. If you follow my care sheet, you should have a healthy baby and enjoy many decades with this tortoise.

I'm going to go on record right now and predict you have a male. Some babies show it at hatching, even though most do not. I can't predict them all, but I can on this one. I've only guessed on a few, but so far I've been right on all that I guessed. PLEASE come back in 3 years and tell me if i was right or wrong.

 

[Tom]

Also, I prefer to weigh in grams. Most of us do. It will save me from having to do the conversion if you list weight in grams.

 

[Anna!]

Holy cow! I never would have guessed she was that little! That makes me feel a lot better. At least I know that she will be getting the proper care when she is this little. I have been following your care sheets religiously! She is In a closed house with lots of moisture and nice warm temperatures, and really enjoys getting her soaks and each day! Although I guess I should stop referring to her as a "her" and start saying "him"!! Thank you so much for your help! I really appreciate it!!

 

[Tom]

Holy cow! I never would have guessed she was that little! That makes me feel a lot better. At least I know that she will be getting the proper care when she is this little. I have been following your care sheets religiously! She is In a closed house with lots of moisture and nice warm temperatures, and really enjoys getting her soaks and each day! Although I guess I should stop referring to her as a "her" and start saying "him"!! Thank you so much for your help! I really appreciate it!!

@Anna! Are you still out there? Is your baby male or female?

 

[Emily Contreras]

Holy cow! I never would have guessed she was that little! That makes me feel a lot better. At least I know that she will be getting the proper care when she is this little. I have been following your care sheets religiously! She is In a closed house with lots of moisture and nice warm temperatures, and really enjoys getting her soaks and each day! Although I guess I should stop referring to her as a "her" and start saying "him"!! Thank you so much for your help! I really appreciate it!!

so hows it going with your tort