Shell deformity?

[lemon_moon]

Hi- my tortoise is a little over 1 and I’ve noticed her (?) shell on the bottom looks very thick.

Attaching photos. Does anyone know what the cause might be? My initial thought is over feeding?

She’s in a 2.5x6 ft table with a greenhouse covering it for warmth and to try to keep up humidity which is always a struggle. She is on coco coir. Mid 90s basking bulb and ambient temp is low 80s- I’m using ceramic heat emitters, I just was reading last night that those aren’t great?

Thank you in advance. I’m all ears how I can improve, I am not dead set on anything I’m currently doing.

 

[wellington]

Ceramic heat emitters are fine for little ones, not for adult giant species.
I'm not sure what caused that.
I'll tag a couple members that might know.
@Markw84
@Yvonne G
@Tom

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Like wellington says, ceramics are fine for smaller tortoises, what kind of basking bulb do you run? Indoor uv type? Also where did you get this little one? He doesn’t look typical of a wild caught, so was just wondering if you know the rough age?

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

He doesn’t look typical of a wild caught, so was just wondering if you know the rough age?

To me the amount of pyramiding points to captive bred but not sure.

 

[lemon_moon]

She’s from a breeder, I had said in initial post she’s a little over a year.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Has his bottom shell worsened over time or has it always been like this?

 

[lemon_moon]

To me the amount of pyramiding points to captive bred but not sure.

Ughhhh pyramiding, so she’s being kept too dry?

 

[Yvonne G]

I've never seen that before. Does he have a hard time walking, or is he able to get up tall enough to get his plastron off the ground? There's nothing can be done about it. It's just something that happened while he was developing in the egg. Just give him the best life you can, set him up properly and feed him well, and love him.

 

[lemon_moon]

Has his bottom shell worsened over time or has it always been like this?

she has not always been like this, it was kind of hard to notice since I see her every day but now I am like oh holy crap

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

she has not always been like this, it was kind of hard to notice since I see her every day but now I am like oh holy crap

If possible, it would be interesting to see how he looked like as a hatchling.

 

[lemon_moon]

I've never seen that before. Does he have a hard time walking, or is he able to get up tall enough to get his plastron off the ground? There's nothing can be done about it. It's just something that happened while he was developing in the egg. Just give him the best life you can, set him up properly and feed him well, and love him.

Thank you Yvonne. I still can’t help but think it’s something on my end since it wasn’t like that initially. And yes, she/he gets around totally fine. Eats, basks, walks, all the normal things

 

[lemon_moon]

If possible, it would be interesting to see how he looked like as a hatchling.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Ughhhh pyramiding, so she’s being kept too dry?

Yes, on top of the deformity there is some pyramiding at top of the shell. But you can prevent it from progressing more in the future. You are right, dryness is a big part of this. I am going to ask some questions to outrule common factors to pyramiding:

• What kind of heat bulb are you using? What about other heating and lighting? (if you could post a picture of the packaging or the full name, that is great) Some lights and heating can have a desiccating effect on the shell.
• What is your humidity like? (basking, ambient, cool side/hide)
• How is your soaking routine? (how often and how long)
• Does he have a waterdish?

 

[lemon_moon]

I just asked my husband about the bulbs.. he’s at work so was a quick answer… incandescent basking bulb, ceramic heat emitters, UVB is Acadia

Humidity can be up to 90% when I wet the coco coir and can drop to 30% when it dries out

Yes water dish

To be honest, and I’m sure I need a good slap on the wrist for this, she only soaks 1-2 times a week for 20 min. For the first 6 months or so it was just about daily.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

She’s from a breeder, I had said in initial post she’s a little over a year.

Oh apologies! I overlooked that!

Ughhhh pyramiding, so she’s being kept too dry?

It does seem she’s been raised too dry.
Though from what it’s worth, if those photos are from when you first got her, she already had some pyramiding which isn’t your fault.

I just asked my husband about the bulbs.. he’s at work so was a quick answer… incandescent basking bulb, ceramic heat emitters, UVB is Acadia

Humidity can be up to 90% when I wet the coco coir and can drop to 30% when it dries out

Yes water dish

To be honest, and I’m sure I need a good slap on the wrist for this, she only soaks 1-2 times a week for 20 min. For the first 6 months or so it was just about daily.

All your bulbs sound correct which is great! I’m thinking this has been down to a humidity issue, usually lukewarm water pours do the trick, if you can keep the under layers nice and damp, keeping that humidity up will be key! You could even try using damp coco coir as the base and orchid bark on top, perhaps the both with be easier to maintain, sometimes a bark layer on top can help lock the moisture in

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

To be honest, and I’m sure I need a good slap on the wrist for this, she only soaks 1-2 times a week for 20 min. For the first 6 months or so it was just about daily.

I think your tortoise would benefit from 3 to 4 soaks a week minimum, daily won't do harm.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

I think your tortoise would benefit from 3 to 4 soaks a week minimum, daily won't do harm.

Yes second this!

 

[lemon_moon]

Thank you all for your input and also thank you for being so kind (I was nervous to post.)

I’ll get back to more soaks for sure and stay more on top of keeping the substrate damp.

Thanks so much

 

[Tom]

I just asked my husband about the bulbs.. he’s at work so was a quick answer… incandescent basking bulb, ceramic heat emitters, UVB is Acadia

Humidity can be up to 90% when I wet the coco coir and can drop to 30% when it dries out

Yes water dish

To be honest, and I’m sure I need a good slap on the wrist for this, she only soaks 1-2 times a week for 20 min. For the first 6 months or so it was just about daily.

Everything you've listed all sounds good. One minor point, not the cause of this issue, is that the UV bulb should be mounted nearer to the basking bulb.

I have two questions:
1. What do you feed the tortoise?
2. How cool does the enclosure get at night?

 

[lemon_moon]

Everything you've listed all sounds good. One minor point, not the cause of this issue, is that the UV bulb should be mounted nearer to the basking bulb.

I have two questions:
1. What do you feed the tortoise?
2. How cool does the enclosure get at night?

She eats grocery store stuff now that it’s too cold to forage.. red and green leaf lettuce, mustard greens, and dandelion greens. Obsessive over the lettuce. When it’s warm and I can forage she eats dandelions and their leaves, clovers, and was eating pansies maybe once a week so I wasn’t decimating my garden. I bought prickly pear this fall but she won’t touch it!

Temps remain the same at all times