early pyramiding?

[kimbverly]

hello everyone, my tortoise is kept in an enclosed chamber with nearly 80% humidity nearly all the time. he gets soaks every other day, almost everyday for at least 20 mins.

i will say though his substrate has started to dry out a little, so i’ll need to do something about that, especially cause he likes to dig himself in it when he goes to sleep.

i don’t really know if this is early pyramiding since he isn’t completely smooth. the image of the side view of his shell is where he looks the lumpiest. he is 6 months old so just a lil guy.

 

[dada625]

Looks very smooth for me.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

What kind of lights are you using? Are the lights completely inside the enclosure.

 

[kimbverly]

What kind of lights are you using? Are the lights completely inside the enclosure.

hi yes the lights are completely inside. i use this 100 W zilla incandescent bulb and a zoomed t5 5.0 uvb

 

[kimbverly]

What kind of lights are you using? Are the lights completely inside the enclosure.

here is a picture, the uvb light is hanging a bit crooked there is also a led light strip which is that yellow thing

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

What are the exact brands of the lights? Some lights can have a desiccating effect on the shell.

 

[kimbverly]

What are the exact brands of the lights? Some lights can have a desiccating effect on the shell.

the brand for the uvb is zoomed and the brand for the basking light is zilla

this is a link for the basking light: https://www.chewy.com/zilla-day-whi...gv375B4H47qGqE2JnkIf7jQLRQCKIVxQaAvouEALw_wcB

link for the uvb light: https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petco...6jBpwEnpzdgquJO0O1caAsC_EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

the brand for the uvb is zoomed and the brand for the basking light is zilla

this is a link for the basking light: https://www.chewy.com/zilla-day-whi...gv375B4H47qGqE2JnkIf7jQLRQCKIVxQaAvouEALw_wcB

link for the uvb light: https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/zoo-med-reptisun-t8-50-uvb-lamp-481289?store_code=&mr:device=c&mr:adType=pla_with_promotiononline&cm_mmc=PSH|GGL|CCY|CCO|PM|0|qNPWM3ncwRZ3dTDidjcAiM|||0|0|||21467355786&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw4cS-BhDGARIsABg4_J0UvKiOnC85D958dbI2fAK0zJbw702vZ06T6jBpwEnpzdgquJO0O1caAsC_EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

What are the distances between the lamp and the tortoise? I am thinking that the heat lamp might be your problem @Alex and the Redfoot can correct me if I am wrong. You want a flood bulb, not a spot bulb.

 

[kimbverly]

What are the distances between the lamp and the tortoise? I am thinking that the heat lamp might be your problem @Alex and the Redfoot can correct me if I am wrong. You want a flood bulb, not a spot bulb.

distance for both lights is about 10.5 inches. i replaced the 75 w flood bulb i had from arcadia with the 100 w zilla bulb because i felt that the basking spot wasn't in the temperature range it should be (to my understanding should be 90-100 Fahrenheit) but i feel that my temp gun can be a bit unreliable bc im not sure whether to point it upwards towards the light or down towards the substrate directly underneath the light (silly problem in hindsight) since both give different readings. i settled for the zilla bulb because i was having trouble finding a 100 w flood light at petstores.

but the zilla bulb being the problem would make sense for sure, since my tortoise kind of avoids sitting directly under it most of the time and sits off to the side but on rare occasion he does sit directly under it.

i've replace the zilla bulb with my old arcadia bulb for now though

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

distance for both lights is about 10.5 inches. i replaced the 75 w flood bulb i had from arcadia with the 100 w zilla bulb because i felt that the basking spot wasn't in the temperature range it should be (to my understanding should be 90-100 Fahrenheit) but i feel that my temp gun can be a bit unreliable bc im not sure whether to point it upwards towards the light or down towards the substrate directly underneath the light (silly problem in hindsight) since both give different readings. i settled for the zilla bulb because i was having trouble finding a 100 w flood light at petstores.

but the zilla bulb being the problem would make sense for sure, since my tortoise kind of avoids sitting directly under it most of the time and sits off to the side but on rare occasion he does sit directly under it.

i've replace the zilla bulb with my old arcadia bulb for now though

Hope you can find the Arcadia bulb in a higher wattage. Flukers is another brand that makes flood bulbs.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

The lamp itself is probably okay (if I can trust the chart on the packaging and it has frosted coating). However, temperature should be measured correctly.
1. Temperature gun is pointed on surface below the lamp. However, surface temperature is not very accurate (wet substrate and black slate will give you very different readings).
2. To measure basking area temperature you need to place a thermometer under the lamp for 1-2 hours to let temperature settle. This gives rough estimate how much tortoise can warm up under the lamp. You can place a small object (1-2 inches high) under thermometer to get more accurate reading. The most creative way was to put the thermometer inside a pumpkin

 

[kimbverly]

hello everyone, my tortoise is kept in an enclosed chamber with nearly 80% humidity nearly all the time. he gets soaks every other day, almost everyday for at least 20 mins.

i will say though his substrate has started to dry out a little, so i’ll need to do something about that, especially cause he likes to dig himself in it when he goes to sleep.

i don’t really know if this is early pyramiding since he isn’t completely smooth. the image of the side view of his shell is where he looks the lumpiest. he is 6 months old so just a lil guy.View attachment 388542View attachment 388543View attachment 388544View attachment 388545

hello again i don’t know if this will be seen again but i took some pictures of his shell today and it looks like it has worsened. sigh. my primary suspicion was the zilla spotlight which might have been too hot. that’s now replaced with an arcadia flood bulb 75w and i moved it to be a little farther from the substrate. the spot below it is always near 100 degrees fahrenheit (+/- 1-3 degrees). i also rewet his substrate again which had dried out earlier. so now the humidity in his enclosure is around 90%. my question is is there anything i could be missing? i just don’t know how he could look like this when i’ve been providing adequate humidity this entire time. that is why i strongly suspect the zilla bulb, which has now been replaced. but just in case, are there any other factors i may have missed? it’s frustrating because it’s not like he is a sulcata, indian star, or leopard tortoise.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

hello again i don’t know if this will be seen again but i took some pictures of his shell today and it looks like it has worsened. sigh. my primary suspicion was the zilla spotlight which might have been too hot. that’s now replaced with an arcadia flood bulb 75w and i moved it to be a little farther from the substrate. the spot below it is always near 100 degrees fahrenheit (+/- 1-3 degrees). i also rewet his substrate again which had dried out earlier. so now the humidity in his enclosure is around 90%. my question is is there anything i could be missing? i just don’t know how he could look like this when i’ve been providing adequate humidity this entire time. that is why i strongly suspect the zilla bulb, which has now been replaced. but just in case, are there any other factors i may have missed? it’s frustrating because it’s not like he is a sulcata, indian star, or leopard tortoise.View attachment 388647View attachment 388648View attachment 388649

It’s likely been the spot bulb, hopefully it won’t get any worse now you’ve switched it, he doesn’t look too bad don’t worry! It’ll be cosmetic

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

hello again i don’t know if this will be seen again but i took some pictures of his shell today and it looks like it has worsened. sigh. my primary suspicion was the zilla spotlight which might have been too hot. that’s now replaced with an arcadia flood bulb 75w and i moved it to be a little farther from the substrate. the spot below it is always near 100 degrees fahrenheit (+/- 1-3 degrees). i also rewet his substrate again which had dried out earlier. so now the humidity in his enclosure is around 90%. my question is is there anything i could be missing? i just don’t know how he could look like this when i’ve been providing adequate humidity this entire time. that is why i strongly suspect the zilla bulb, which has now been replaced. but just in case, are there any other factors i may have missed? it’s frustrating because it’s not like he is a sulcata, indian star, or leopard tortoise.View attachment 388647View attachment 388648View attachment 388649

If you reach 100F using lower wattage flood bulb at larger distance, then, perhaps, a 100W bulb at smaller distance could be the culprit.

Try to raise the lamp a little bit more to get basking area temperature to 95F.

 

[kimbverly]

It’s likely been the spot bulb, hopefully it won’t get any worse now you’ve switched it, he doesn’t look too bad don’t worry! It’ll be cosmetic

i hope it isn’t too noticeable the more he grows

 

[kimbverly]

If you reach 100F using lower wattage flood bulb at larger distance, then, perhaps, a 100W bulb at smaller distance could be the culprit.

kind of crazy how much damage a light like that make for only a couple of weeks. i remember using my temp gun and getting too low temperatures and that’s what compelled me into buying the zilla bulb. maybe i misused the temp gun i don’t know.

Try to raise the lamp a little bit more to get basking area temperature to 95F.

done! i also raised my ceramic heat emitters up a bit