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The SAD part of running a reptile rescue
Part of running a reptile rescue is being able to look at some very sad cases. This poor tortoise was one of the really sad ones. Some kind-hearted soul was working in Atlantic City when he noticed a kid trying to trade a turtle for a 6-pack of beer across the street. He convinced the kid to give him the turtle for $5, and drove it all the way from Atlantic City, NJ to our rescue in Lancaster County, PA -- and he wasn't even a "reptile person", just a very nice guy!

What is pyramiding?
Pyramiding is when a tortoise's individual scutes grow into abnormally pointy, pyramid-like shapes. Some species have no pyramiding in the wild, while others have a very mild ammounts. It is not believed that pyramiding causes pain to captive tortoises, but because it's not natural owners try to avoid it. A good owner should be doing everything possible to help their tortoise grow a strong, healthy shell - as close as possible to the shells we'd see on specimens in the wild.

What causes pyramiding? Protein or humidity?
There's currently some debate over what causes pyramiding in tortoises, but its generally related to either excess protein in the diet or lack of humidity in captivity (which wild tortoises get from burrowing, among other factors). A zookeeper friend of mine from ZooAmerica in Hershey, PA recently showed me two of her tortoises who live in the exact same setup at the zoo, same diet, same everything. One had no pyramiding and the other one did (allbeit mild pyramiding). Cases like this add even more speculation to the debate because the same setup is producing different pyramiding results. However, it turns out the tortoise from Atlantic City was being fed nothing but DOG FOOD! So in his case it was clear that a high protein diet was responsible for this EXTREME case of pyramiding.

Please learn from this sad case . . .
I can't tell you how many times I've heard someone tell me "My reptile loves to eat ___________ (fill in the blank with a food that is bad for the reptile)". Well-meaning, loving owners are always telling me their reptiles love to eat food that is BAD FOR THEM! Sulcattas, for example, should have a VERY LOW ammount of fruit in their diet, but some owners make it a daily staple. Sure they love sweet fruits, but it's not good for them. Your children would love to eat ice cream three meals a day, but you would never give them that much just because they like it. The same should be true for your herps. Please learn from these sad pictures...an improper diet does terrible things to reptiles. Please make sure your reptile is eating the right things and stick to them. If you want to "spoil" your reptiles, give them food that will help them grow up strong, not food that will make them sick and deformed.

Pictures
I took the pictures with a "perfect" specimen in the background so you could compare a healthy Sulcatta Shell to this very sadly deformed shell. By the way, the turtle himself turned out to be very sweet and was adopted by a loving home in California where he has many months a year to graze outdoors on grass with natural UVB. With a life like that his shell may start to improve in a few years.

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Jesse Rothacker
Forgotten Friend Reptile Sanctuary
Find out how YOU can get involved in reptile rescue...
www.forgottenfriend.org

and it was in the case of a 'high fiber/low protein' diet.

Wouldn't it be grand to state with certainty that we know the cause of this growth pattern?

In the case of dogfood... I've never seen it mentioned whether the dog food is canned or grain based when it is mentioned. In the case of canned food I would think that the fat would be more of a problem than the protein although I really don't think neither actually causes pyramiding.

Once again, behavior choices such as feeding preferences, humidity preferences and temperature preferences (especially if a choice is given)is hardly ever mentioned and I really think it is a very important aspect in pyramiding.

>>The SAD part of running a reptile rescue
>>Part of running a reptile rescue is being able to look at some very sad cases. This poor tortoise was one of the really sad ones. Some kind-hearted soul was working in Atlantic City when he noticed a kid trying to trade a turtle for a 6-pack of beer across the street. He convinced the kid to give him the turtle for $5, and drove it all the way from Atlantic City, NJ to our rescue in Lancaster County, PA -- and he wasn't even a "reptile person", just a very nice guy!
>>
>>What is pyramiding?
>>Pyramiding is when a tortoise's individual scutes grow into abnormally pointy, pyramid-like shapes. Some species have no pyramiding in the wild, while others have a very mild ammounts. It is not believed that pyramiding causes pain to captive tortoises, but because it's not natural owners try to avoid it. A good owner should be doing everything possible to help their tortoise grow a strong, healthy shell - as close as possible to the shells we'd see on specimens in the wild.
>>
>>What causes pyramiding? Protein or humidity?
>>There's currently some debate over what causes pyramiding in tortoises, but its generally related to either excess protein in the diet or lack of humidity in captivity (which wild tortoises get from burrowing, among other factors). A zookeeper friend of mine from ZooAmerica in Hershey, PA recently showed me two of her tortoises who live in the exact same setup at the zoo, same diet, same everything. One had no pyramiding and the other one did (allbeit mild pyramiding). Cases like this add even more speculation to the debate because the same setup is producing different pyramiding results. However, it turns out the tortoise from Atlantic City was being fed nothing but DOG FOOD! So in his case it was clear that a high protein diet was responsible for this EXTREME case of pyramiding.
>>
>>Please learn from this sad case . . .
>>I can't tell you how many times I've heard someone tell me "My reptile loves to eat ___________ (fill in the blank with a food that is bad for the reptile)". Well-meaning, loving owners are always telling me their reptiles love to eat food that is BAD FOR THEM! Sulcattas, for example, should have a VERY LOW ammount of fruit in their diet, but some owners make it a daily staple. Sure they love sweet fruits, but it's not good for them. Your children would love to eat ice cream three meals a day, but you would never give them that much just because they like it. The same should be true for your herps. Please learn from these sad pictures...an improper diet does terrible things to reptiles. Please make sure your reptile is eating the right things and stick to them. If you want to "spoil" your reptiles, give them food that will help them grow up strong, not food that will make them sick and deformed.
>>
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>>Pictures
>>I took the pictures with a "perfect" specimen in the background so you could compare a healthy Sulcatta Shell to this very sadly deformed shell. By the way, the turtle himself turned out to be very sweet and was adopted by a loving home in California where he has many months a year to graze outdoors on grass with natural UVB. With a life like that his shell may start to improve in a few years.
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>>-----
>>Jesse Rothacker
>>Forgotten Friend Reptile Sanctuary
>>Find out how YOU can get involved in reptile rescue...
>>www.forgottenfriend.org
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Ed @ Tortoise Keepers
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care

Perhaps there are many causes and perhaps some sulcatas are naturally prone to pyramidding and some are not?

I once read a theory somewhere that stated the reason that a lot of captive sulcatas show pyramidding is because they do not have access to burrowing in captivity...which in the wild...the friction of the burrow ceiling acts like an abbrasive and smooths down the tortoise's shell.

By the way...if you want to see one messed up sulcata shell, click the link below, and then scroll down to the rotating pictures (just above where it says MEET THE TORTOISES).
Sulcata Rescue

Jesse, your message is a good one. But, yes, I have seen as bad or worse pyramiding. The worst I saw was on a sulcatta at a rescue place, and it was allegedly fed nothing but boiled carrots! It was also very orange color...no kidding. Sad, with greatly exaggerated horn like growths on its marginals, I would be surprised if it could ever lay eggs. Thankyou for getting that tortoise to a better home and trying to educate people.

i have two sulcattas, and i work hard to try to prevent pyramiding, but i still get some (not as bad as the bad one's pictured). one of the guys who works at one of the larger petshops i go to has sulcattas. he says he does everything he can to prevent pyramiding but he gets it too. i go to zoomobile and aquavan exhibits and things of that nature. one of the more popular exhibits they have will usually be a large iguana or a sulcatta. they will quickly admonish the pet owners that raised these creatures. the iguana owner because the lizard isn't over five feet long (it's rare for iguans to grow over five feet long in the wild, usually only domestic animals get this large) and doesn't have more green coloration. the sulcatta ofcourse because there is pyramiding. i try to purchase captive bred hatchling reptiles and grow them from scratch. most of the people who i know who criticize the success of people who raise reptiles usually buy or rescue reptiles that are already grown or well started or work for the zoo. people buy sulacattas, iguanas, and other reptiles on a regular basis yet only a handful are successful at raising them to maturity, and they get criticized for not raising perfect animals. come on guys aren't we being a little over critical. raising reptiles is exciting and challenging. that's why most of us do it. it's not a walk in the park that only idiots screw up.

Just wanted to share a pic of one of my tortoises with the most pyramiding. This is Tatiana, she came to me from New York. Her previous owner rescued her from someone else, but he was keeping her in the basement and not feeding her the proper diet. He meant well but you can see she has abnormal growth. The new growth seems to be smoother, but time will tell. She is loving the Florida sunshine and seems healthy and happy. Thanks!

Shawnon

wow that is a sad looking spur. it amazes me how nature is so perfect by design and as soon as man gets involved we screw it all up so fast. The Turtle Love Ranch is one of the rescue groups our rescue works with. They have a really deformed sulcatta picture on their website...

http://groups.msn.com/TURTLELOVERANCH

I will warn you before you go there they are much worse pictures than what we have posted already.
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Jesse Rothacker
Forgotten Friend Reptile Sanctuary
Find out how YOU can get involved in reptile rescue...
www.forgottenfriend.org

Mine looked pretty bad the day she got here.. it's a shame this happens to so many.

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PHRatz

I once came across a poor sulcatta in a pet store. Needless to say I was a bit outraged...

It didn't look like it EVER had a smooth growth in its life...it was like the grand canyon. And to make things worse, its whole shell looked sunken in, kinda like a saddle.
In other words, picture something looking more like a pancake tort, or a basic water turtle (in shape) with lots of pyramiding and a depression in the middle of its back...

I can't help to feel for the little guy to this day...

yeah, luckily our spur only had extreme pyramiding...almost everything else about his shell shape seemed okay. considering the other shell deformities he could have had, pyramiding doesn't seem so bad.
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Jesse Rothacker
Forgotten Friend Reptile Sanctuary
Find out how YOU can get involved in reptile rescue...
www.forgottenfriend.org