Newbie: advice please

[jaclyn]

Hello, I know this has probably been asked many times before. Can some please give me some advice on my horsefield.

I'm not sure if she is pyramiding? I might be just being paranoid. She's in perfect health and loves bathing, eating, wandering around a and being handled.

If she is pyramiding how can I help her.

Thank you 🐢

 

[Jacqui]

Hi and welcome to TFO. I like how in the one picture she looks almost as flat as a pancake. The second picture does make it seem like she has some pyramiding. Is she on astroturf or something or do you just have a great piece of natural grass in there?

 

[jaclyn]

Hi, it's astro turf as the main flooring but I have hay and a type of wood chip in the actual house.

 

[Jacqui]

You just got her right? The best thing to do for her is to just make sure you have all areas of her care correct: large enough enclosure, time outside in the summer, a proper diet, proper temps, otherwise known as the overall picture needs to be correct to keep pyramiding at a minimum.

 

[jaclyn]

Are these better pictures of tiger?

 

[wellington]

She does seem to have pyramiding to me. Also, if that is fake turf, although it looks real, I would replace with real or dirt, cypress mulch or even coconut coir. The light, that's not a coil type bulb is it? If so, they have been know to cause eye problems, so I would replace that with one that does not. Keep your tort hydrated, water available 24/7 , soak in warm water once a week for 20-30 minutes give calcium with D3 once a week, just a pinch, unless she gets outside a lot, then you don't need the D3 part. Give a good diet and try to get her outside for the good old sunshine when possible.

 

[jaclyn]

Hi,

I got her and her brother (as I like to think of him [SMILING FACE WITH OPEN MOUTH AND SMILING EYES]) in May. They both seem healthy and happy. I feed them the right foods and the temp is correct. There is so many different opinions on the internet that it's confusing me slightly and I would hate for me to be doing anything wrong which could make them ill.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Jaclyn, and welcome to the Forum!

It's too late in the tortoise's life to do anything about it now. All you can do now is take care of her the way she should have been in the beginning. We have a pretty good care sheet in the "important threads" at the top of the Russian section.

Pyramiding is not a death sentence. We have been drilled so harshly about not allowing our babies to pyramid, that most of us have an ugly view on the subject. It's not as bad as what you read. Your tortoise is beautiful in its own way, and with the proper care from now on, she can live a happy, healthy and long life.

Your tortoise's new motto is, "I'm pyramided, but I'm beautiful! (so deal with it!!!)"