Pyramiding?

[izel_]

So another user on this forum said my tortoise is pyramiding. This is the first time i have heard of this so i looked it up but i still can not completely be sure since Izel is my first tortoise. I do have her in a 10 gallon tank with a heating lamp. Izel eats very well. Although she has not been popping as much lately. I am planning on taking her to a vet just for a check up.
Any opinions on whether my tortoise is pyramiding? And what can i do to help her/him? Any feed back would be great. Thank you.

 

[T33's Torts]

A 10 gallon tank is very tiny! Very very very small. Much to small for a sulcata of this size. Please read Tom's sulcata care sheet. One sulcata should have a minimum of 3.5' x 3.5'.

 

[izel_]

A 10 gallon tank is very tiny! Very very very small. Much to small for a sulcata of this size. Please read Tom's sulcata care sheet. One sulcata should have a minimum of 3.5' x 3.5'.

Sorry i meant a 50 gallon tank.

 

[T33's Torts]

What are the dimensions of the tank?

 

[bouaboua]

A 10 gallon tank is very tiny! Very very very small. Much to small for a sulcata of this size. Please read Tom's sulcata care sheet. One sulcata should have a minimum of 3.5' x 3.5'.

Sorry i meant a 50 gallon tank.

That is much better. What is that thing on his back? I don't think he like it.

haha!!

 

[boris'mommy]

Ontop of the tank 50 gallons or not being a bit too small, not having a UVB bulb and proper humidity levels is most definitely your problem. Again check out toms care sheet. This cute little gay/gal was very clearly kept too dry what seems to be its entire life. So make sure you get a humidifier!

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And a tank hood with a UVB bulb. Also look into 'close chamber' enclosures to keep humidity up. (Which you'll need one of these too tell what it's at)

 

[izel_]

A 10 gallon tank is very tiny! Very very very small. Much to small for a sulcata of this size. Please read Tom's sulcata care sheet. One sulcata should have a minimum of 3.5' x 3.5'.

Sorry i meant a 50 gallon tank.

That is much better. What is that thing on his back? I don't think he like it.

haha!!

That is Izzie my Iguana. hahaha. They sleep together sometimes. The previous owner told me it was a Greek, until today i they informed me it is an Sulcata so i have to begin research on proper caring for her/him.
thank you for the help/

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Ontop of the tank 50 gallons or not being a bit too small, not having a UVB bulb and proper humidity levels is most definitely your problem. Again check out toms care sheet. This cute little gay/gal was very clearly kept too dry what seems to be its entire life. So make sure you get a humidifier!

---

And a tank hood with a UVB bulb. Also look into 'close chamber' enclosures to keep humidity up. (Which you'll need one of these too tell what it's at)

---

Thank you. I will definitely look into buying one.

 

[edwardbo]

arnt you the same guy with that jaw dropping white loapard?,that tort is smooth....what else have you got?

 

[Tom]

Hello izel_. Most of the info and "research" you do on the Internet, in books and with vets or experts will lead you to make your problem worse. You will read that sulcata need it dry, hot and arid. This is wrong, and its the reason your tortoise looks the way it does. We need to be simulating the warm, wet, humid African rainy season that baby sulcatas hatch into, not the dry season that they avoid. May I suggest you research these two threads to learn how to stop your pyramiding in progress:

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-79895.html
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-15137.html

 

[argus333]

may i suggest not keeping a green iguana with your sulcata.

 

[BrinnANDTorts]

may i suggest not keeping a green iguana with your sulcata.

What does that have to do with Pyramiding? I know a pet some in Austin who keep an iguana with a sloth and have for a long time and nothing has every happened. They both look perfectly happy in that picture, you know I have no problem with people suggesting things. Giving advice about anything but some people are so rude about it. He didn't say he kept the iguana with the sulcata did he? No he said they sleep together sometimes, and for all you know he supervises them when they are together
Its not like a dog and Tortoise, where the dogs nature tells him to chew or eat that Tortoise. I'm sure that iguana could care less about that Tortoise and other way around, especially when they are that young. When the iguana gets big and goes through heat and such, who knows? Or when the sulcata gets big

 

[izel_]

may i suggest not keeping a green iguana with your sulcata.

They both are babies at the moment. They are very friendly with each other. Hardly ever come across each other. But i do plan on separating them as they grow older.

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may i suggest not keeping a green iguana with your sulcata.

What does that have to do with Pyramiding? I know a pet some in Austin who keep an iguana with a sloth and have for a long time and nothing has every happened. They both look perfectly happy in that picture, you know I have no problem with people suggesting things. Giving advice about anything but some people are so rude about it. He didn't say he kept the iguana with the sulcata did he? No he said they sleep together sometimes, and for all you know he supervises them when they are together
Its not like a dog and Tortoise, where the dogs nature tells him to chew or eat that Tortoise. I'm sure that iguana could care less about that Tortoise and other way around, especially when they are that young. When the iguana gets big and goes through heat and such, who knows? Or when the sulcata gets big

Thank you so much for that.
My iguana and tortoise are very friendly with each other. Both are still babies and they keep each other company.
I greatly appreciate your words but im not a he. Lol.

 

[boris'mommy]

I thought you were a chick lol and as much as I agree they look very cute, a tortoise is a solitary animal and even though they may enjoy some interaction the biggest psychological issues tortoises can have come from stress. And I can't speak for your tortoise specifically but I have seen a lot of cases where sullies especially are not fans of sharing their enclosures. Even with other tortoises. So you may even want to reconsider visiting time. Again I could never say 100% that they do not enjoy eachothers company but it may take a mental toll on your tort. I would see what Tom has to say on the subject.

 

[Tom]

I wouldn't mix them for disease AND behavioral concerns. There is no guarantee that housing two animals together will lead to failure every single time, but the greatly increased risk of failure is reason enough for me not to try it.

 

[T33's Torts]

I like the iguana!

 

[wellington]

may i suggest not keeping a green iguana with your sulcata.

What does that have to do with Pyramiding? I know a pet some in Austin who keep an iguana with a sloth and have for a long time and nothing has every happened. They both look perfectly happy in that picture, you know I have no problem with people suggesting things. Giving advice about anything but some people are so rude about it. He didn't say he kept the iguana with the sulcata did he? No he said they sleep together sometimes, and for all you know he supervises them when they are together
Its not like a dog and Tortoise, where the dogs nature tells him to chew or eat that Tortoise. I'm sure that iguana could care less about that Tortoise and other way around, especially when they are that young. When the iguana gets big and goes through heat and such, who knows? Or when the sulcata gets big

Actually, the suggestion was in no way rude. It was also an appropriate suggestion as they should not be housed together and the sleeping together made me think the same thing, that they are housed together, which we now know,they are. Also, don't forget, just because someone does it, does not make it right or healthy for either animal. This we have learned from all the bad info out there that people still do, even though it's wrong and unhealthy for our animals. Let's not jump too quickly.

 

[izel_]

I thought you were a chick lol and as much as I agree they look very cute, a tortoise is a solitary animal and even though they may enjoy some interaction the biggest psychological issues tortoises can have come from stress. And I can't speak for your tortoise specifically but I have seen a lot of cases where sullies especially are not fans of sharing their enclosures. Even with other tortoises. So you may even want to reconsider visiting time. Again I could never say 100% that they do not enjoy eachothers company but it may take a mental toll on your tort. I would see what Tom has to say on the subject.

I never thought about stress as an issue for Izel but now i will take it into consideration and buy her a separate and better home for her. I wouldn't want her to have health issues. Thank you so much for that prospective.

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

I think you get it, but to expand on Toms point of never truly knowing, here is a picture of my Doberman being loved on by one of our cats. When Ava, the dog was a puppy, she would curl up with our cats for nap time. They have a wonderful relationship.
That said though, when we leave the house we pen Ava up to avoid anything going wrong. Like I said, I do think you get it, just wanted to share how we avoid things here that may never happen, and doing what we do insures that nothing bad can happen.

 

[izel_]

I think you get it, but to expand on Toms point of never truly knowing, here is a picture of my Doberman being loved on by one of our cats. When Ava, the dog was a puppy, she would curl up with our cats for nap time. They have a wonderful relationship.
That said though, when we leave the house we pen Ava up to avoid anything going wrong. Like I said, I do think you get it, just wanted to share how we avoid things here that may never happen, and doing what we do insures that nothing bad can happen.

Thank you so much for that. I do separate them for most of the day but they do sleep together at night. I have made the decision though to separate them.

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I wouldn't mix them for disease AND behavioral concerns. There is no guarantee that housing two animals together will lead to failure every single time, but the greatly increased risk of failure is reason enough for me not to try it.

Yes i agree. I have made the decision to separate because i don't want them to have health issues because of each other. Thank you so much for the info. This forum has helped so much!!

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

Well done!!