Super sad pyramiding :(

[adore]

I saw this pic on a stock photo site and I actually felt sick. I've never seen pyramiding so bad before. AND because of this graphic some people will now think that this is what a normal healthy Sully looks like. That's sad too.

 

[Amanda A]

That's awful! Is a stock photo one that is sold as prints?

 

[Tom]

The pyramiding there is not all that bad. The main issue for that poor tortoise is metabolic bone disease.

 

[jockma]

I'm genuinely sad that I can truthfully say I've seen much worse cases. It should never get to this point, much less beyond it.

 

[dmmj]

that's definitely Metabolic Bone disorder more than anything else

 

[wellington]

I don't think anyone would think that's normal, unless they were brain dead. It's an old pic, that's been posted a few times on here. Years ago the info that we are lucky to have now was not available. The owners of this tort may have known this wasn't right, but had know idea how to help fix it and most vets didn't and don't know either. All we can hope is that he is living a good life now and being loved

 

[adore]

Thanks guys! What are the physical signs of metabolic bone disease?

 

[jockma]

One of the first signs people notice is a soft shell. The shell eventually becomes more and more deformed, like the dome of the shell is collapsing in on itself. This can look different depending on the case, sometimes the shell flattens, sometimes the shell grows unevenly with a deep groove on one end and a high slope on the other. Sometimes the center of the shell collapses like a crater, similar to the image you posted. Pyramiding is usually present, but not always. Limb and jaw deformities can also occur.

 

[jockma]

That's not even including the internal damage, too...

 

[Tom]

One of the first signs people notice is a soft shell. The shell eventually becomes more and more deformed, like the dome of the shell is collapsing in on itself. This can look different depending on the case, sometimes the shell flattens, sometimes the shell grows unevenly with a deep groove on one end and a high slope on the other. Sometimes the center of the shell collapses like a crater, similar to the image you posted. Pyramiding is usually present, but not always. Limb and jaw deformities can also occur.

Its just so sad, and so easy to prevent...

 

[dmmj]

Its just so sad, and so easy to prevent...

I agree 100% if it was hard to prevent I could see it happening more often.

 

[jockma]

I know MBD is often caused by ignorance on the owner's part but I feel like it's almost impossible to own a tortoise and know nothing about MBD, which makes me think that a lot of owners are aware of the problem but brush it off or procrastinate on correcting the issue. Maybe because of the price of UVB bulbs, maybe because an adequate diet is too time-consuming or expensive, maybe because of good old-fashioned laziness. I remember the day I got Bean like it was yesterday. I spent the night researching redfoots and pyramiding/MBD information was in BIG, BOLD writing on every single caresheet worth a damn that I could find.

Which is why I just can't comprehend how so many cases of MBD progress to such a severe state. At some point early on in the disease the caretakers MUST know that something is really, really wrong.

Sorry for the rant Hope I didn't come off as too judgmental.

 

[adore]

One of the first signs people notice is a soft shell. The shell eventually becomes more and more deformed, like the dome of the shell is collapsing in on itself. This can look different depending on the case, sometimes the shell flattens, sometimes the shell grows unevenly with a deep groove on one end and a high slope on the other. Sometimes the center of the shell collapses like a crater, similar to the image you posted. Pyramiding is usually present, but not always. Limb and jaw deformities can also occur.

Thank you so much Jockma!