Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a leopard that has a substantially thick plastron and moderate pyramiding - it does not appear to hinder his movement in anyway, and he seems plenty healthy... but I wanted to know if anyone can suggest what I can do to try to correct it over time - or just keep it from progressing??? He is about 6 years old and measures about 11 inches - is there a rule of thumb for determining the health of a tortoise based on shell thickness??

Thick is good thin is bad.If you want to know for sure how thick it should be, go to you local museum and find a Leopard tortoise that came from the wild and was never in captivity.You can compare the shell thickness to your captive.If you go to all this trouble then go a head and write a paper on it.I dont think anyone has done this.You could be a hero.A herpetological legend.It needs to be done with all the tortoises we keep so we have a standard to live up to...nature! Now "you" have a huge burden to live up to. vic...wonder what this guy thinks

Thick plastron? Too much of anything may be a problem... I know a very experienced breeder of pardalis who is convinced that too much belly/undersubstrate heat may cause this condition. I don't have an opininon, but I wouldn't be surprised if the condition is associated with the pyramiding. You probably can't correct it, but can improve conditions to prevent additional. Check into pyramiding, the causes, as the old theories vs. new differ. Humidity when young seems to be a critical factor to prevent pyramiding, and you are beyond that stage now. Good diet ample humidity/moisture chamber when young Calcium source/ratios seem to equal healthy shells and long life...
R. and J. Fife do a good job explaining this in there book on Leopard tortoises(2006), a good read for you and anyone working with G. pardalis or grassland tortoises in general. Good luck, Vic H.

Shell thickness and pyramids, remember that many wild caught leopards were imported that were pyramided in the wild. Some say these were Tanzanian/Serengetti animals, but who really knows? My tortoise has some pyramids from its wild days, and the new shell growth since coming into captive care is smoother...Vic H.