General Care Discussion :: pyramiding

[LurycNitsuj]

I have had my turtle sense he was a hatchling, and that was in october most likely. maybe a little earlier, and he is already at like 3 and a half inches. I overfed him a lot for the first few months, but since then i have changed his diet and what not, and im hoping hes back on a normal growing pattern.


My questions are, what kind of harm does pyramiding actually do to the turtle ? or is it just weird shell growth, also, im wondering if by correcting his diet will the pyramid shape ever go away?

Thanks.

[AnthonyGarcia]

from what i read from this forum, i knew once a turt has pyramiding, it would not go away. you can just cut off on high protein foods and out put more veggies on his diet. i also heard pyramiding causes kidney failure and the turt may not live long...

try to click the search link for additional research...

[mikee]

Lu-nit -- If your turtle is over 3 inches long I would drop back to every other day feeding him. Sometime that is hard to do as they are the best beggars. Veggies are a good idea. I would use Reptomin for the regular food as it is a balanced diet. It is a little short on calcium. Get a calcium block every week or so and be patient. It will be like watching a pot of water boil. It will take time.

[SpotsMama]

Can you post a photo of your turtle? It's very hard to form any opinions without actually seeing the shell. Your turtle may not have any pyramiding problem, or he/she may have some other sort of problem, or everything may be just fine.

[LurycNitsuj]

he has a pyramiding problem for sure, and ive already fixed his diet. well actually her diet. he eats tons a veggies, and has a calcium black and all that jazz. I just wanted to know besides a weird looking shell, what other kinds of problems pyramiding causes.

[octpusgirl8]

It can put pressure on the turtle's internal organs, and it generally goes along with problems such as low bone density and kidney problems. If you correct the diet the shell will stay odd shaped, but the underlying problems can be fixed. In time the shell may look better, but it probably won't ever be normal.

[LurycNitsuj]

well, luckily i caught it pretty early on, so i think he will ok.... his shell is already looking better, except for the curling on the back edge of her shell. Thanks for all the replies.