How bad is Rex’s pyramiding?

[Rex1718]

He has pyramiding issues since I got him as a small baby. He was 3 inches and like 104 grams. He was kept in a dry environment with about 100 other baby sulcatas. I figured at that small it would smooth one out with time. Ive kept him in a high humidity environment, he gets lots of uv exposure. His diet consists of mostly grasses and weeds. But I do supplement with collards and endive, once a week or so. And give him some carrots and combed corn as treats every once in a while.
Just wondering how bad his pyramiding is, and maybe some pointers on how to stop it from getting any worse

 

[Markw84]

Sulcatas stop pyramiding once they reach about 10" as long as conditions are anything close to acceptable. The newer growth on your's you can see is coming in much better now.

Diet and UVB have nothing to do with pyramiding. It is simply a function of if their carapace is subjected to drying conditions as they are actively growing and the bones are still ossifying the first few years.

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

I don't think there is a scale or guide with ranking for pyramiding. So no one can say that's a 3.2 on a 10 point scale.

All things considered your tortoise looks good, and the pyramiding is not so bad at all.

As markw84 suggests, it will become less evident as the tortoise grows more and should not continue with that growth as the shell's underlying skeleton fills in. When they are neonates the shell is like a series of bones similar to a web, as they grow the gaps (fenestra) fill in with bone, and that make the enamel (fingernail like material that you see as 'the shell') less well able to deform the bone with more growth.

 

[Billna the 2]

Nope not bad, your tortoise looks great.

 

[Rex1718]

Thanks for the responses. I feel better now

 

[Chantel]

Looks like my Dozer. He's 4 now. I tried to keep him from pyramiding, but didn't succeed very well. I hate the pyramiding, but noting I can do but try to do better. He's outside full time now. So I use misters in his enclosure during the day. Trying to figure out what the best way to increase humidity in his house at night.