Sulcatas still pyramiding

[Paul M Jones]

Ok someone help. My sulcatas are in a 90%humid tank. Substrate is cypress mulch, I soak them for 25 mins a day, their diet is zoo med grassland tortoise food, spring mix greens, Timothy hay, and I have pots where I plant my own grass for them to eat. Problem is they still seem to be pyramiding. They are still small, I need advice what I can do so they can smooth out, and stay healthy

 

[lismar79]

It takes a while to seen smooth growth.

 

[teresaf]

How long have they been in the 90% humidity? You probably just can't See an improvement yet. It'll be more noticeable if you take a picture monthly and compare them to the first picture. what I would look for is the newest growth rings to be flat and not upward growth. the newest growth rings are on the very outside of the scutes at the 'seams' of the sections of the shell. I don't see the continued pyramiding myself.

 

[Paul M Jones]

They've always been in 80-90% humidity I just moved them into a larger tank.

 

[Paul M Jones]

I see people say they soak there torts up to an hr a day. Should I try that? Maybe a half hour in the morning and a half hour in the evening

 

[sibi]

The problem may not be humidity. Pyramiding is caused by a variety of factors, not just humidity. I believe diet, natural sun, and exercise are also contributing factors. Tell me how much UV is he receiving and from what source. Also, one major factor could be how he began life. Was he hatched in a dry environment or a wet one. If dry, that can be a big part of the problem. The good news is that the pyramiding will stop and he'll grow smooth from here on out. Whatever little pyramiding he has will not be noticeable as he gets bigger provided he continues receiving the care you are providing.

 

[Paul M Jones]

They are outside almost all summer, they have a uva/uvb bulb. They're constantly walking around their cage or I take them out and let them walk around. The smaller tortoise (tank) was purchased on a website.. Technically I bought another tortoise from this site and I received it the next day basically dead. its shell was like paper I emailed them and complained since they had no phone number, they asked me to return the first tortoise the they mailed me out another. Tank arrived with deep grooves

 

[sibi]

I think you should mention what website it was that you got Tank from so that other members don't buy from them. Is Tank the tort that you've started this thread on? If he is, that would explain a lot. The good news is that he'll get better under your care. Btw, the tank you have your two babies in is way to small for them. While still small, perhaps one of them could be in that tank, but not two. Soon, they'll need to be in a much larger enclosure.

 

[Paul M Jones]

Backwater reptiles. At the time there were more positive reviews then negative ones. A lot of the negative reviews are mostly the same thing that happened to me. People received sick reptiles.

 

[sibi]

Backwater reptiles. At the time there were more positive reviews then negative ones. A lot of the negative reviews are mostly the same thing that happened to me. People received sick reptiles.

Is Tank the tort you're concerned about with pyramiding?

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

They are outside almost all summer

They've always been in 80-90% humidity

Where do you live? Is it really 80-90% relative humidity outside all summer or is that the humidity when they are in the tank? How much time a day outside of the tank vs inside are they spending?

 

[Paul M Jones]

I'm concerned with both my babies, but tank seems to be worse. I currently live at the jersey shore. In the summer I let them outside for a while to get some natural sun, but they have hides that I pack with coconut coir and cypress mulch if they need to escape the heat. Their area outside only gets half direct sunlight

 

[sibi]

I'm concerned with both my babies, but tank seems to be worse. I currently live at the jersey shore. In the summer I let them outside for a while to get some natural sun, but they have hides that I pack with coconut coir and cypress mulch if they need to escape the heat. Their area outside only gets half direct sunlight

Oh, they'll need a UV source for the winter months. How old is the current bulb that you're using? You won't be able to take them out for natural sunshine til late spring. Do you have a mercury vapor bulb (MVB)? If not, I strongly urge you to get one asap. They need a ceramic heat emitter for the nights. Do you have that? The UVA/UVB you have, is it a coil bulb?

 

[teresaf]

I See you have three of those button thermometer hygrometer things. Kind of reminds me of my original set up with my babies. I quickly realized those buttons are very inaccurate when it comes to humidity... well temperature too. All three of mine were incorrect. I think the humidity gets the internal workings of the button type wet and makes them stop working right.

You really should get the kind of digital one that has a probe on a wire that you just hang in the tank. they're only about $15 at Lowes, Home Depot, Amazon...and maybe a hand held digital one to check different spots in the tank. I know temperature has to be above 80 degrees 24/7 with high humidity but you definitely don't want to cook the little buggers either.

I mention this because It looks like you have three lights in that one little tank. how can it not be hotter than Hades in there if it's a closed chamber? those aren't the coil type, right? this is all just FYI I don't think it really fixes your little torts problem...

 

[krh11b23]

Ok someone help. My sulcatas are in a 90%humid tank. Substrate is cypress mulch, I soak them for 25 mins a day, their diet is zoo med grassland tortoise food, spring mix greens, Timothy hay, and I have pots where I plant my own grass for them to eat. Problem is they still seem to be pyramiding. They are still small, I need advice what I can do so they can smooth out, and stay healthy

They have to grow in order to see any improvements. I wouldn't worry too much about it. Sounds like your doing good. Just give them time to grow, and you should see the new growth come in nice and smooth.

 

[Paul M Jones]

Oh, they'll need a UV source for the winter months. How old is the current bulb that you're using? You won't be able to take them out for natural sunshine til late spring. Do you have a mercury vapor bulb (MVB)? If not, I strongly urge you to get one asap. They need a ceramic heat emitter for the nights. Do you have that? The UVA/UVB you have, is it a coil bulb?

I have a reptisun 10.0 uva/uvb bulb in there and at night I use a Zilla night black bulb.

 

[Paul M Jones]

I See you have three of those button thermometer hygrometer things. Kind of reminds me of my original set up with my babies. I quickly realized those buttons are very inaccurate when it comes to humidity... well temperature too. All three of mine were incorrect. I think the humidity gets the internal workings of the button type wet and makes them stop working right.

You really should get the kind of digital one that has a probe on a wire that you just hang in the tank. they're only about $15 at Lowes, Home Depot, Amazon...and maybe a hand held digital one to check different spots in the tank. I know temperature has to be above 80 degrees 24/7 with high humidity but you definitely don't want to cook the little buggers either.

I mention this because It looks like you have three lights in that one little tank. how can it not be hotter than Hades in there if it's a closed chamber? those aren't the coil type, right? this is all just FYI I don't think it really fixes your little torts problem...

The temp is accuate I have a temp gun. I'm going to check into the humidity reader asap. There is a lot of humidity in the tank. The glass is constantly sweating the substrate is basically soaked

 

[sibi]

I have a reptisun 10.0 uva/uvb bulb in there and at night I use a Zilla night black bulb.

The reptisun is a coil bulb, right? If so, you'll need to get rid of it or return it to the store. They've been known to damage the torts eyes. Instead, the MVB is what I recommend. It not only provides the UV needed, but also heat. The black bulb needs to go. Torts can't sleep properly with any type of light on. Instead, the ceramic heat emitter (CHE) gives off heat at night when lights go out. Please let me know if the bulb you're using is the coil type. Thanks.

 

[Paul M Jones]

Thank you I'll look into it right away

 

[Paul M Jones]

Update: since I've changed to the Mercury vapor bulb and CHE my babies shells are improving. Also since the last reply on this topic, I got an acu rite thermometer. The humidity was off a bit. On the gauge it was saying 80-85%. But when I changed to the Acu-rite that said 70-75%. I want to thank everybody for their advice.