how long does it take pyramiding to show its full colors, i know Ophelia has pyramiding but it just seems like it looks alot worse than it did before? is it finally starting to show? ive raised my humidity and temps so it shouldnt be new pyramiding
pyramiding
- Thread starter heyprettyrave
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Well, let us see the beautiful Ophelia, so we can be the judge!! 
when i first noticed her pyramiding it was just very little and you could hardly tell, now its very noticeable and i just want to make sure its old and not new
im also wondering if the underside (belly) is supposed to be flat?
im also wondering if the underside (belly) is supposed to be flat?
What you want to look at is the space between the scutes. That space look perfectly flat to me. The "bumps" are on her original shell...the part she had when she first hatched and a couple months after.
I can only guess that you are perceiving the pyramiding as exagerated because of the good growth between the pyramids making them "stand out" more.
Scutes grow from the boundaries, the old material doesn't normally "spread out" in other words, it just gets added to.
Something interesting that I see on Ophelia that I haven't noticed on any other tort but my own Rocky is some "inverse" pyramiding at the scute boundaries, especially at the rear end of the carapace, where it is also more pronounced on Rocky, and an apparent compression of the pyramids. I haven't been sure what to think of this, perhaps too much humidity? This didn't seem possible, but I've begun to suspect that most keepers don't actually provide nearly the humidity they think they are. I've been in a wait and see mode to judge how the growth continues to add to decide if it is truly a "flaw" or the side effect of a dramatic change to more ideal husbandry.
Part of Andy Highfields latest thoughts on pyramiding and mbd involve pressure from the scutes on the bone of the carapace being uneven do to scute deformities (either too thick or too dry). From what I've seen in Rocky and now Ophelia I think he may have something.
To try and explain:
A pyramid is a very strong structure. In the case of Rocky and Ophelia these structures were already present in the scutes, possibly from excessively dry conditions. Now that these conditions are corrected the keratin is maintained in a pliant state. As the bone of the carapace grows it pushes outwards on the scutes, causing them to spread at the boundaries. The pyramids being strong continue to hold their shape despite the softening and resist (apply great pressure) against the growth of the bone, but the smooth growth at the boundaries provides little resistance, so the bone "smooshes" out creating that raised growth. I'm hoping that continued new growth will be at that "elevation" and all new growth will be smooth, with a step down at the pyramids, and not continue in a reverse pyramid structure.
LOL sorry if that was all too much.
Basically, her pyramiding has stopped, and how I see her growing leads me to believe you are doing well on the environment you provide her.
Scutes grow from the boundaries, the old material doesn't normally "spread out" in other words, it just gets added to.
Something interesting that I see on Ophelia that I haven't noticed on any other tort but my own Rocky is some "inverse" pyramiding at the scute boundaries, especially at the rear end of the carapace, where it is also more pronounced on Rocky, and an apparent compression of the pyramids. I haven't been sure what to think of this, perhaps too much humidity? This didn't seem possible, but I've begun to suspect that most keepers don't actually provide nearly the humidity they think they are. I've been in a wait and see mode to judge how the growth continues to add to decide if it is truly a "flaw" or the side effect of a dramatic change to more ideal husbandry.
Part of Andy Highfields latest thoughts on pyramiding and mbd involve pressure from the scutes on the bone of the carapace being uneven do to scute deformities (either too thick or too dry). From what I've seen in Rocky and now Ophelia I think he may have something.
To try and explain:
A pyramid is a very strong structure. In the case of Rocky and Ophelia these structures were already present in the scutes, possibly from excessively dry conditions. Now that these conditions are corrected the keratin is maintained in a pliant state. As the bone of the carapace grows it pushes outwards on the scutes, causing them to spread at the boundaries. The pyramids being strong continue to hold their shape despite the softening and resist (apply great pressure) against the growth of the bone, but the smooth growth at the boundaries provides little resistance, so the bone "smooshes" out creating that raised growth. I'm hoping that continued new growth will be at that "elevation" and all new growth will be smooth, with a step down at the pyramids, and not continue in a reverse pyramid structure.
LOL sorry if that was all too much.
Basically, her pyramiding has stopped, and how I see her growing leads me to believe you are doing well on the environment you provide her.
so does this not always happen? i am kinda confused lol, i did find it a lot different from all the pictures ive looked at so i was concerned. but you think shes healing so i should just continue to do what im doing and just keep an eye on it? and how can you tell shes growing?
sorry im just interested
sorry im just interested
so overall she looks pretty good right shes growing and thats what all this is?
shes growing and thats what all this is?- Status
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