Tortoise shells are usually pretty smooth and free from major bumps, so, if your tortoise’s shell starts looking odd and starts pyramiding then you’d understandably start to worry.
This article looks into whether pyramiding on tortoise shells can be reversed.
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Can pyramiding on a tortoise be reversed?
Tortoise shells are susceptible to developing problems during the growth stages, one such growth that you may see in your pet’s shell is pyramiding.
Here is what you need to know about pyramiding in your tortoise and reversing it:
Pyramiding in tortoises:
Unfortunately, the pyramiding that may develop in your tortoises cannot be reversed, once the pyramiding happens it’s there forever
That being said it would be important to try to minimize any future pyramiding in your pet.
Here is how to do this:
Diet:
One of the things that cause tortoise shell pyramiding is an improper diet, namely a diet that is too rich in protein or fat.
You can keep your pet’s shell from further pyramiding by rather giving your pet a diet that contains a variety of leafy greens, vegetables, and small amounts of fruit.
The lights:
Another thing that may cause your pet’s shell to pyramid is a lack of UVB, without this type of light ray, your pet won’t be able to produce vitamin D and this can lead to metabolic bone disease as well as shell pyramiding
Solve this by making sure your pet’s UVB light is appropriate for the pet and make sure that these lights are changed every 6 months.
Improve the humidity:
Another cause of shell pyramiding is low humidity in the enclosure.
While turtles have different humidity needs it is generally advised that you keep the humidity in your pet’s enclosure at around 60 percent for adult turtles and 65 percent for juvenile turtles.
Spraying the enclosure using water, or, using a humidifier in the enclosure should help with this.
Using a moisture-retaining substrate will also help to maintain the humidity in the enclosure. Do this to keep shell pyramiding at bay.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other turtle/tortoise related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Why Is My Tortoise Making Chirping Noises?, Why Is My Tortoise Squeaking And Not Eating?, Sulcata Tortoise Squeaking, Sulcata Tortoise Squeaking While Sleeping, Why Is My Turtles Shell Bending Up?, Why Is The Bottom Of My Turtle’s Shell Pink?, My Red-Eared Slider Keeps Opening His Mouth