sulcata size question

[mainey34]

Pyramiding is not caused by food, it is caused by dry conditions. Low humidity, little or no water, soaking..if you post pics we can help with sexing your tort..

Pyramiding can also be caused from food, if you feed a sulcata to much protein they can become pyramided. It takes a well balanced diet plus all the other things you mentioned to avoid pyramiding.

But most commonly it is caused by dry conditions, and as I suspected...the tort was raised on pellets with no water available.. a common mistake... made by owners, which causes pyramiding...

 

[dar64]

The great thing about reptiles is that they dont really have a growth limit per se, more to the point, sulcata's in particular have until 30 years old before they "stop" growing (stop in quotes because because that's debatable). With a consistent (not over fed) diet with a protein booster like mazuri or similar you would probably catch up pretty quickly. Quickly being relative to the age of your tortoise, the older the tortoise the more catching up he has to do.

What's the distance from inside the top of the igloo to the top of the tortoises shell? And what the diameter at the bottom?

the igloo is 34 " around and 26" high. She's only around 4 or 5 inches high I'd guess Do you block the opening and drill a hole at the top for the cord ?

 

[dmarcus]

Pyramiding is not caused by food, it is caused by dry conditions. Low humidity, little or no water, soaking..if you post pics we can help with sexing your tort..

Pyramiding can also be caused from food, if you feed a sulcata to much protein they can become pyramided. It takes a well balanced diet plus all the other things you mentioned to avoid pyramiding.

But most commonly it is caused by dry conditions, and as I suspected...the tort was raised on pellets with no water available.. a common mistake... made by owners, which causes pyramiding...

Just making sure you knew since you said that "pyramiding is not caused by food."

 

[Dizisdalife]

can someone tell me what the best lamp and bulb wattage I should use to heat a large igloo ?
thankyou

dar

What is the coldest temperature that you expect outside of the igloo?

 

[dar64]

its usually in the 40's- 50's but it got below freezing for around a week this year. daytime is 60's-70-s

 

[Tom]

Pyramiding is NOT caused by food. I can raise a totally smooth sulcata on entirely the "wrong" diet, if I manipulate other factors the right way. I would never do this because I believe it is bad, but I have seen it done both in Southern Florida and in New Orleans. The sulcatas were fed dog and cat food daily, as well as whatever they scrounged in the yard. They were well hydrated, kept humid, and totally smooth.

All of the factors mentioned ARE necessary to grow a smooth HEALTHY tortoise in my opinion, but if you are just talking about pyramiding alone, it's not the food.

 

[RedfootsRule]

With bad care, bad food, bad everything...anythings possible. The size you mention would be a direct result, likely, from the improper care it received before you....
....And pyramiding is caused by such a wide variety of factors, to some extant or another, it would take forever to list them all. Not just humidity, not just food, not just temperatures. They all play a role.