Bumpy-shelled spur-thighed mediterranean tortoise
Posted: 01 Nov 2021, 15:32
Hello all,
More endless questions as we learn about our tortoise, thanks for your patience!
So 7 year old Gonzales is new to us, but he has had a chequered history and as a result has quite a bumpy shell. I have learnt a lot about pyramiding since we got him, but there are a few things I would like to check.
1. We don't want his shell humps to get any worse but I understand that most pyramiding develops in the first few years of life? Given that he is now 7, could his pyramiding get more pronounced if he were in the wrong conditions, or at his age, is it all done and dusted already with no prospect of worsening? He is about 22 cm SCL.
2. Obviously we hope he has a perfect home with us, a home in which no further pyramiding can occur! But there does not seem to be an exact science on how to prevent it apart from getting the light, heat and humidity right, letting them exercise and giving them the right food. Thanks to Nina's advice, I think his diet is pretty good nowadays (wild leaves and flowers with vit D3 and calcium powder), and he gets plenty of exercise - I can hear him clambering up his log pile as I type this. The UV light and heat are all compliant with the care sheet.
Re. the humidity, I understand that low humidity can contribute to pyramiding. He was in a highly humid environment at his previous owners, so I am guessing he developed his humps before they rescued him. We have him in a tortoise table with topsoil/sand substrate, there are plants, moss and water in there, and we give the table a thorough mist (mixing up the substrate as we mist) every couple of days. Do we need to do anything else for optimum humidity? I have read that some owners provide a humid hide for their tortoise, but I don't know if this is beneficial to mediterranean tortoises. I am concerned that the move from a highly humid environment to a less humid one might trigger more pyramiding (even if the new humidity level is more appropriate to a mediterranean tortoise)?
3. His tortoise table has an arched doorway in it which allows him to move from his sleeping/digging area to the eating/drinking/climbing/destroying-all-our-plants area. Sometimes the substrate builds up under the arch and so it becomes a bit of a tight squeeze to get through and he ends up grinding the top of his shell against the arch. Is this ok for him to do? Not painful or unhealthy in any way? Will it eventually wear down his bumps?!
Thanks for reading this very long post!
TP
More endless questions as we learn about our tortoise, thanks for your patience!
So 7 year old Gonzales is new to us, but he has had a chequered history and as a result has quite a bumpy shell. I have learnt a lot about pyramiding since we got him, but there are a few things I would like to check.
1. We don't want his shell humps to get any worse but I understand that most pyramiding develops in the first few years of life? Given that he is now 7, could his pyramiding get more pronounced if he were in the wrong conditions, or at his age, is it all done and dusted already with no prospect of worsening? He is about 22 cm SCL.
2. Obviously we hope he has a perfect home with us, a home in which no further pyramiding can occur! But there does not seem to be an exact science on how to prevent it apart from getting the light, heat and humidity right, letting them exercise and giving them the right food. Thanks to Nina's advice, I think his diet is pretty good nowadays (wild leaves and flowers with vit D3 and calcium powder), and he gets plenty of exercise - I can hear him clambering up his log pile as I type this. The UV light and heat are all compliant with the care sheet.
Re. the humidity, I understand that low humidity can contribute to pyramiding. He was in a highly humid environment at his previous owners, so I am guessing he developed his humps before they rescued him. We have him in a tortoise table with topsoil/sand substrate, there are plants, moss and water in there, and we give the table a thorough mist (mixing up the substrate as we mist) every couple of days. Do we need to do anything else for optimum humidity? I have read that some owners provide a humid hide for their tortoise, but I don't know if this is beneficial to mediterranean tortoises. I am concerned that the move from a highly humid environment to a less humid one might trigger more pyramiding (even if the new humidity level is more appropriate to a mediterranean tortoise)?
3. His tortoise table has an arched doorway in it which allows him to move from his sleeping/digging area to the eating/drinking/climbing/destroying-all-our-plants area. Sometimes the substrate builds up under the arch and so it becomes a bit of a tight squeeze to get through and he ends up grinding the top of his shell against the arch. Is this ok for him to do? Not painful or unhealthy in any way? Will it eventually wear down his bumps?!
Thanks for reading this very long post!
TP