Is my tortoise pyramiding?! Help :(

LeighBear_

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Jun 24, 2014
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Hello,

I am really stressed out and worried. Recently I've been noticing my tortoise's shell change. I'm not sure whether it's due to growth or if it's actually the start of pyramiding. My tortoise is one year old, so is still young.

Here are some photos I have taken today of the shell for youse to see. What do youse think??

If this is the start of pyramiding can someone please help me with advice on where to start/what to do to stop it happening and make it better? I feel absolutely awful if it is :(

Thank you xx


image.jpg image.jpg image.jpg
 

margykid

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Sep 12, 2014
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Yes. I afraid that is the start of pyrimading. But don't worry, you can easily stop it. Just search up the thread "how to reduce pyrimading". Good luck :);)
 

Yellow Turtle01

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Moister substrate will help a bunch. Mist daily, and it can easily prevented from happnening further in the future :D
 

LeighBear_

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Thanks guys! I appreciate all your feedback. I have been looking around at people's comments regarding humidity and they are all different so I am really confused!! The humidity is usually between 50-60% (as that's what I read last time I looked up online). I use plain top soil which I moisten with a spray bottle quite a lot of times everyday. The soil is only about 1.5 inches deep because my tortoise likes to climb on top of her wooden tunnel to look out and I'm scared if it gets any higher she will try to climb onto the side of the tortoise table and that could end badly...

I feel like my soil dries out really quickly and I don't know what else I can do to keep the moisture in! :( x
 

tortdad

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Can you raise the sides of your box so you can deepen the soil? Russians like to dig and burry themselves so 4-5" would be optimal for it. You can also mix in coco coir or spag moss into the soil.


0.0.1 Redfoot (Spike)
0.0.1 Cherryhead Redfoot (Bruce Wayne)
1.0 Sulcata (Hal Jordan)
 

johnsonnboswell

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You need to find a way to deepen the substrate. I'm putting this out there as a flat statement, not a suggestion.

The habitat walls will need to be raised. The current habitat may be too small altogether, as the log placement indicates. A larger habitat maintains moisture better.

The immediate thing you can do is to water the habitat as if it were a planter. Misting is great for the air or top surface, but doesn't penetrate to the bottom of the substrate where the moisture really needs to be. Your choice whether to stir or not.
 

LeighBear_

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I have now deepened the substrate for her to 5" and managed to rearrange her enclosure to avoid her escaping with the deep soil haha so hopefully that helps! Thank you all for your help, really appreciated!! :) xx
 

tortdad

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I have now deepened the substrate for her to 5" and managed to rearrange her enclosure to avoid her escaping with the deep soil haha so hopefully that helps! Thank you all for your help, really appreciated!! :) xx
What's your humidity now?


0.0.1 Redfoot (Spike)
0.0.1 Cherryhead Redfoot (Bruce Wayne)
1.0 Sulcata (Hal Jordan)
 

tortdad

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I alway just pour water over the soil....Easier then misting because you want the bottom layer damp too...

That's how I do it too but make sure do it in a corner or move the top layer of moss or mulch (whatever you have on your soil). You want the underneath mostly wet an the top layer mostly dry. If you just pour water on the top your tort will end up with shell rot from sitting in too much moisture.

Once or twice a week I move the spag moss I have away from the corners Of my enclosure and pour some warm water in, then shift the moss back in place. I also mist a few times a day but that's mostly just directly on the torts and maybe some on the walls of the enclosure. My humidity never drops below 94% and my top layer stays relatively dry so I've not (knock in wood) had to deal with any shell rot yet.


0.0.1 Redfoot (Spike)
0.0.1 Cherryhead Redfoot (Bruce Wayne)
1.0 Sulcata (Hal Jordan)
 

LeighBear_

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That's how I do it too but make sure do it in a corner or move the top layer of moss or mulch (whatever you have on your soil). You want the underneath mostly wet an the top layer mostly dry. If you just pour water on the top your tort will end up with shell rot from sitting in too much moisture.

Once or twice a week I move the spag moss I have away from the corners Of my enclosure and pour some warm water in, then shift the moss back in place. I also mist a few times a day but that's mostly just directly on the torts and maybe some on the walls of the enclosure. My humidity never drops below 94% and my top layer stays relatively dry so I've not (knock in wood) had to deal with any shell rot yet.


0.0.1 Redfoot (Spike)
0.0.1 Cherryhead Redfoot (Bruce Wayne)
1.0 Sulcata (Hal Jordan)

Thank you for your advice, you have been a really big help to me!! I appreciate it a lot and so does a happy George :tort::) xx
 
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