PYRAMIDING STOPPING, AGE ANY IDEA?

[wellington]

Has anyone figured out at what age you can still try to stop pyramiding? Another thread I was reading brought this to my attention . If at 9 months your tort seems to still be pyramiding, can you still change things and try to stop it? Or do you think by 3,4 or 5,6 months is the only time you have a chance? At 9 or 10 months do you think it is to late to stop what they are going to have and there is no trying to grow new growth smooth? I hope you can understand what I am asking. I worded it the best I could come up with.
Any opinions, welcomed. Any facts, needed. Any real life observations, please do tell

 

[ascott]

In my opinion As long as the shell continues to grow...there is opportunity to improve future growth....there would be no reason to think that there is a "cut off" for proper care....

 

[Neal]

I don't think pyramiding has an age limit. I currently have two leopard tortoises that were over 10 years old by the time I received them that had pretty severe pyramiding. All of the new growth of the last few years has been smooth. You can see where the old growth stopped and where the new smooth growth began.

 

[wellington]

Neal, how do you keep the older ones that are showing new smooth growth after 10 years of pyramiding? I know they don't need the high humidity after a year or maybe a year and a half or so? But then with a ten year old what do you think is also helping with the pyramiding? Lights! MVB and/or natural sun light and a good diet? Or do you live in a humid area?

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In my opinion As long as the shell continues to grow...there is opportunity to improve future growth....there would be no reason to think that there is a "cut off" for proper care....

I didn't mean to ever stop proper care I hope you didn't think that I was thinking the higher humidities like I am using now
Thanks though for pointing that out, just incase someone takes it the wrong way.

 

[Neal]

Neal, how do you keep the older ones that are showing new smooth growth after 10 years of pyramiding? I know they don't need the high humidity after a year or maybe a year and a half or so? But then with a ten year old what do you think is also helping with the pyramiding? Lights! MVB and/or natural sun light and a good diet? Or do you live in a humid area?

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The adults were kept outdoors year round in well grassed yards, and were fed a diet of only kale when they weren't grazing. Really the only to things I changed when I took over were how hydrated I kept the tortoises and a more varied diet. They've never been exposed to high amounts of humidity except during the rainy season. I'm in AZ, so even during the monsoons, humidity isn't drastically high. I'm not convinced they require constantly high humidity at any age to grow smooth, the key for us has always been good internal hydration.

 

[wellington]

So, besides having water available for drinking, what else do you do for adults to hydrate them? I was planning on not only water to drink and self soak in but to also have water on their food. I do that now also. Am I missing anything I could do? I have a while yet, he's only 10 months, so I can still soak him.
Thanks.

 

[Neal]

Not sure what else you can do to hydrate them besides give them water to drink. During the summer they drink when the sprinklers come on. During the winter I soak them in large tubs about once a week.

 

[ascott]

I didn't mean to ever stop proper care I hope you didn't think that I was thinking the higher humidities like I am using now
Thanks though for pointing that out, just incase someone takes it the wrong way.

Oh no, never meant anything....just happened to be part of my whole train of thought.....