Mark answered your MBD question.OK. If MBD ("bumpy tortoise") and Pyramiding are two separate issues, how do you tell if it's one or the other?
Just want to learn here. I have two Redfoots, almost three years old, and one has a really smooth shell while the other's shell is showing definite signs of pyramiding, despite the fact that they live and grow in the exact same conditions of temperature and humidity. So is there no other factor apart from growth in dry conditions that might contribute to pyramiding (their diet is also the same, and it's a good, recommended diet of all the right stuff for Redfoots)?
The mystery of some torts pyramiding and some not and seemingly have been kept identical in care is the fine tuning I think we all want to know and are slowly getting to the answers.
A few thoughts to ponder.
How old were your torts when you got them and did they really have the exact same care prior to you receiving them?
Are they the same age, if one was 4wks and the other 12wks with same wrong care before you got them then the 12wk old would most likely pyramid and maybe you caught the 4wk old in time(for example).
Do they behave the same in your enclosure? Maybe 1 sits out in the open and 1 digs in under moist foliage, resulting in different growth patterns.
Maybe one dominates any hot spots and dries out more than the other.
I’ll take a stab and take a chance of making a fool out of myself and say your more pyramided tort is more outgoing than the smooth one.