Slight pyramiding?

[Summerlilly05]

Hello, I have a Russian tortoise named Shelly. I purchased her a few months ago and have also taken her to a vet who said she was healthy about 2 months ago. I have a UVB light and a good cage setup. I was wondering if you could tell me if it looks like she has pyramiding on her shell. I may be paranoid but I would like to be sure. I am a novice tortoise owner but would like to provide her with the best. Included below are pictures of her as well as her enviroment. Please include any suggestions you may have. Thank you for your help!

 

[RosemaryDW]

She looks like an adult wild caught female? Theirs shell are naturally a bit bumpy and scratched up; she looks just right to me!

I'm going to ask you how large that enclosure is? Tanks are far too small for adult Russians. A four foot by eight foot table top enclosure is the smallest we recommend. Perhaps you've found something that size and I just can't tell from the pictures.

If it is indeed a small enclosure, have you read information on Russian care and enclosures on the forum? From your current setup I can see you really love Shelly and invest a lot of time in her care. I'm just trying to see if the size is okay.

This sheet contains basic info for an adult Russian enclosure in the first paragraph: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

 

[RosemaryDW]

I don't think I have a good shot of my Russian's shell from that angle but here is one that shows she's got some street cred. The greenish lines in the middle of the shell are newer growth from the time she "moved" to the U.S. You can see they are a little smoother but not perfect.

You can also see she's a little bumpy in my avatar picture.

 

[wellington]

The enclosure does look too small to me also. The shell looks pretty dry. Adult Russians need some humidity. Please read the adult Russian care sheet in the Russian section and make adjustments and she will be happier and healthier for it

 

[Summerlilly05]

Thank you for your suggestions. To answer you questions and concerns: she has a large water dish in her enclosure which is a 45 gallon terrarium, I soak her once a week for about 25 minutes. Also she is about a year old.

 

[RosemaryDW]

Also she is about a year old.

I think that tortoise is much older than one year; wild caught tortoises are four or five years when they are sold. Did you get her from a breeder or a pet store? Pet stores often don't know that much about tortoises and can be bad sources of information.

One year old or five years old, the terrarium is still too small. I'm sorry to say so; I can see you spent a lot of time putting it together.

 

[Eduardo Hernandez]

Yeah, doesn't look like its a year old. Probably anywhere from 5-10 years old, maybe more.

Even though Russian torts are small, they still need a lot of space. On here, 4 feet by 8 feet is the minimum required space usually advised. But if you can go bigger, that's even better!

 

[Summerlilly05]

Would two zoo med tortoise houses attached to each other provide ample space?

 

[Eduardo Hernandez]

That would be about 6 feet by 4 feet, correct? It would work, and is better than what you have him in now. just make sure to use sight barriers as well!

Also, to answer your original question, it seems like your tort doesn't really have any pyramiding. Wild caught torts are usually bumpy, and at the size/age of yours new growth would be very slow and has little risk of pyramiding.

 

[RosemaryDW]

Would two zoo med tortoise houses attached to each other provide ample space?

Ugh, my tortoise is outdoors so I'm useless on zoo med houses. I believe I've heard @Yvonne G mention their suitability, hopefully she'll chime in.