General Care Discussion :: What is pyramiding?

[packfan1]

I have seen it talked about and sorta browsed around the general information area, but did not see anything to lead me to what it is.

[Azfar]

Pyramiding is ..

"Overfeeding leads to an unhealthy large intake of protein and fat. This intake leads to rapid growth, which can cause shell pyramiding. Too much protein can also cause internal organ damage like kidney failure. The scutes on the carapace are not smooth as they should be and appear in a pyramid shape. There are varying degrees of severity, and the areas between scutes may not have their normal strength.

If not immediately corrected, pyramiding is a permanent disability."

I copy this from Health link under Shell Conditions...

Here I have picture of my turtle which suffer with pyramiding, you may see the shell is not smooth.. he is almost 2 years old.. I'm changing his diet now..

[SpotsMama]

Hi Packfan1,

I think the description from Azfar is right on target. I couldn't add anything to it.

With respect, I'm going to move this thread to the General Care Discussion forum. Your question is a very good one but I think it fits better in the other area. The Urgent Care section is for help with sick or injured turtles that need attention right away.

[packfan1]

Thanks for the information and I did not realize I had asked this question in Urgent Care section. Sorry for that! :O)

[dudio]

Thanks Azfar for the description and picture.
It was quite helpful !

[NBfootball42]

this is what i asked about in other discussions. this is what i was asking about but my turtles shell is not rising up the edges are turning upward could that be the same thing?

[steve]

this is what i asked about in other discussions. this is what i was asking about but my turtles shell is not rising up the edges are turning upward could that be the same thing?

The pyramiding in the picture is most likely diet related, whereas the raised edges (marginals) could also have multiple factors leading to it's condition.

[SpotsMama]

NB football42, can you provide a photo of your turtle? There's a condition called metabolic bone disease where sometimes a shell seems flattened and the marginals curve upwards. It's caused by either insufficient calcium in the diet or insufficient exposure to good UVB light or both.

[NBfootball42]

i copied the code from photobucket but cant seem to make smaller sorry about the size of the pic

[octpusgirl8]

Can you tell us about the turtle's diet and habitat? Do you have a UVB source?

[NBfootball42]

i have that posted in an other fourm but no i dont. i feel terrible about it because i didnt know but im getting one tomorrow morning

[marisa]

The upturned scutes are most likely because your turtle was overfed a high protein diet.

What was/is he eating? How much is he fed at a feeding and how often do you feed him?

[NBfootball42]

i got the food from a petsmart. they are called turtle bites. (red and green pellets) at first i only fed him 5 and he ate them quickly then i started to feed him more like 12-15. (because of the label on the food it said to give your pet as much as it can consume in 3-4 min) but i thought it would be way too much if i did that so i stayed at about 10 pellets

[Chrisbarnett]

NB,
Only feed as much as would fit in the head if it were hollow. Not including the neck.

[marisa]

If I remember correctly, the HBH Turtle Bites are fairly high in protein. It sounds like he was being fed too many. If that's the only food he's getting, try to vary the diet more, especially with plant matter (leafy greens).

The guide of using a head-sized amount, particularly for pellets is a good one. Don't follow the mfgr's recommendation on the amount of food too give---it's too much.