Reptile & Amphibian Forums

had a sulcata for over 1 year, had always heard that protien caused pyrmiding. have recently heard that a humidity box would help prevent pyrimiding, yet we have also been told that humiditty or moisture other than a limited amounts was not good for our baby. any advice on pyrimiding prevention?
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Thank You For All Your Help. Brandon

Providing a humid hide allows your tortoise the ability to decide for itself. Dehydration seems to be one of the major factors in pyramiding. In the wild sulcatas often spend a good portion in the day in burrows where the humidity is much higher than it is above ground. If you create a humid "burrow" or hide, the tortoise can choose to enter this microhabitat when it needs to, and you can keep the rest of the enclosure at a lower/moderate humidity.

There are a few ways to create a humid hide. One way is to water the inside of the hide on a regular basis, how well this works will depend on the substrate you use and how easily it molds. Another way is to use a clay pot on its side and put a wet natural sponge on it. Just water the sponge when dry. The clay absorbs water very well and will make the inside of is humid. Another way is to have a canister with a lid, put two holes in the lid just big enough for aquarium airline tubing. Get an air pump and an airstone and some airline tubing. Run a length of tubing from the pump through one holes into the canister with the airstone on the end, put this in the bottom of the canister. Run a second length of tubing from the canister through the other hole and into the hide. Have the end of the tubing be at the top of the canister. Fill the canister half way with water, plug in the air pump. This will be pumping humid air into the hide.

One of my biggest problems was the lack of water. The pet store said they didn't need a lot of water. I thought Tank was getting enough from greens and soakings. He lived in a state of dehydration for a long time. I'm convinced this led to his pyramiding. Now he is on the correct diet (75% grasses/hay and 25% weeds/greens) and given access to water at all times. I live in upstate New York and have trouble with humidity levels. Half his enclosure is 50% coconut coir/50% play sand that I wet daily. The other half is hay for grazing. I also provide a humidifier right next to the enclosure. In warmer weather he's outside.

Julia