General Care Discussion :: Pyramiding?

[queenjane]

Is Tank's shell pyramiding?



His shell looks like it has the growth rings of a tree on it-- and I have no idea if this is normal. He sheds scutes frequently though.

[queenjane]

And he won't eat apple peels. I'll try blueberries and sweet potatoes this week.

Does anachris contain Vitamin E?

[Daniel3507]

i cant really tell from the picture if its pyramiding or not. im not sure if anachris has vitamin E but if it does i dont think there would be much in it. blueberries and sweet potatoes will help him shed but you should limit how much you give hiim

[TheComputerGremlin]

From the picture, it looks like he has slight pyramiding. I don't think it's just scute retention, since it doesn't look smooth. When you run your fingers over it, is it physically bumpy and not smooth? Like raised bumps? A few pictures at different angle will help out.

As for his diet, what do you feed him? How often? How much each feeding? What is his shell length? How long have you had him? Based on those current claws, if "he" is around 3-5 inches, I'd say you have a "she".

[queenjane]

Yes, it looks like old scutes have been stacked one on top of the other, from large to small with the smallest ones on top ready to shed.

Here are all the photos I've taken of him/her/it:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/queenjane/ ... 902093369/

[queenjane]

Here are some photos I took specifically for this post:










If it is pyramiding, what do I do? Tank doesn't show any signs of illness, RI, infections, low activity, et cetera. He acts normal aside from his watery eyes and ocassional itchy/closed left eye which I treat with eye drops. Although this is sometimes a sign of RI, I don't think he has it given that he shows no other symptoms.

I'm sure everything is a result of his diet. Since I found him, he's been on a really poor diet of shrimp (which I no longer feed him) because he refused to eat anything else. I've finally got him to eat pellets, guppies, and anachris, and this week I will be introducing a primarily plant-based diet.

The reason I don't know these things is because I cannot afford a vet. (I can't even afford my own doctor bills.) I am already struggling to afford a larger tank. (I begged for one for Christmas and everyone thought it was stupid, so I don't have anything larger than a 10 gallon. I'm going to see about a clear Rubbermaid today because it's upsetting me.)

While we're on it... is Tank a girl? (3 1/2 inches long)

[queenjane]

I did some research and it seems like pyramiding to me. Given that he had a high-protein diet early on, I'm sure not all of his scutes shed and he retained some, building upon them layer by layer.

Should I switch him to a 90% veggie diet? I feel terrible and I don't want him to die or have organ problems. This wouldn't have happened if I was not so stupid, but I really didn't know.

[Daniel3507]

i think you got a girl there. looks like there could possibly be some slight pyramiding but it doesnt look too bad at all so dont feel bad about it. you dont need to switch to a 90% veggie diet. just keep feeding the proper amount and offering veggies. do you have a UVB light?

[SpotsMama]

I don't see pyramiding but there's definitely retained scutes. He/she also looks kind of flat to me (though he/she's basically a beautiful turtle - very colorful with a sweet face).

On the retained scutes, in addition to including foods with vitamin e (steamed sweet potato, blueberries, tomato, turnip greens and apple peel) be sure he/she basks regularly under good UVB so that he/she dries out completely - top and bottom.

On the flat look, does he/she have plenty of calcium in his diet? The easiest way to be sure there's plenty of calcium is to make sure there's always cuttlebone in the tank. That plus good UVB are essential to development of a healthy shell and bones.

Above all, don't do anything radical with his/her diet - just be sure he gets a good, healthy diet based on good quality pellets and plenty of leafy greens supplemented with occasional good fruit and veggies and once in a while a high protein treat. You can't make up for past poor diet by going the opposite way - that just means a different kind of poor diet.

[novroz]

From the picture, tank kinda look like my Kame. and my kame did suffer pyramiding

Kame used to eat a lot of shrimp too.

give her veggie little by litle, she will spit it out, but you have to do tough love, that what I did back then

[queenjane]

Hmm. I don't understand why he/she/it would look flat. I put reptile vitamins and a calcium supplement ALL over the pellet food-- it's like totally dusted in the stuff. He won't touch cuttlebone but I put it in there anyway.

[SpotsMama]

I think the angle of the photo and some distortion by the water may be making him/her looking flatish to me. As long as he/she gets him/her calcium and basks under good UVB he/she should be fine.

I do wonder why the growth rings. It doesn't look as if he/she has ever shed, yet you say there's frequent shedding. Do you ever put shed conditioner or some sort of wax on him?

[Bascomb]

Q-jay - Just a little pyramiding. You can get back to the basics of water temp., basking temp, uvb and a good diet. Feeding him pellets every other day would be fine. She is large enough to cut back on the feeding. Add some calcium with the pellets and she will do fine. Nice turtle!! b.

[queenjane]

Like that shell conditioner stuff? That cream stuff?

Nope, I don't put anything on his/her shell.

[queenjane]

I don't know if he's flat or not... He might be. I've never seen any other RES to compare him to.