Smoothing the nacho mountains

[Moore]

I rescued a 6 y/o Sulcata about a year ago. Named him nacho. He has moderate pyramiding and had a pretty bad R.I. The previous owner fed only grocery store greens. Unsure of the UV status, but was kept outside in the summer at least. After antibiotic treatment the R.I cleared up and appetite restored. He's gained 9lbs since he's been in my care (I'm thinking mostly fluid restored, due to prior dehydration). I have noticed improvements of the pyramiding, with proper UV and a diet of mostly Timothy/alfalfa cubes. Just wondering about the consensus of the use of said cubes for sullys. Seems to be treating him pretty well...

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Is his/her shell soft at all.
To my both untrained and unprofessional eye it looks more like MBD than pyramiding.

 

[Moore]

Is his/her shell soft at all.
To my both untrained and unprofessional eye it looks more like MBD than pyramiding.

No, he's solid throughout. I never got the impression that he had MBD. He is healthy as an ox now, might be a bad photo angle. He's round beneath the peaks, and shell including plastron is in good firm consistency.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

No, he's solid throughout. I never got the impression that he had MBD. He is healthy as an ox now, might be a bad photo angle. He's round beneath the peaks, and shell including plastron is in good firm consistency.

Cool.
Good news.

 

[Yvonne G]

What you're looking for is for the shell to start leveling between the scutes. If you'll notice your tortoise, the plane is still on an upwards slant between the scutes. More hydration and humidity might help.

I wonder if the hay cubes have enough vitamins and minerals for the tortoise. Can you also give him fresh, edible weeds. And maybe a bit of Mazuri Tortoise Diet occasionally?

 

[Moore]

What you're looking for is for the shell to start leveling between the scutes. If you'll notice your tortoise, the plane is still on an upwards slant between the scutes. More hydration and humidity might help.

I wonder if the hay cubes have enough vitamins and minerals for the tortoise. Can you also give him fresh, edible weeds. And maybe a bit of Mazuri Tortoise Diet occasionally?

I forgot to mention. He does get a fair amount of dandelion, shaved butternut squash. And occasional mazuri. The rounding of the shell would take a long time to occur, right? As in years with age? I don't have a decent "before" pic. But it seems to me he has improved