# leopard tortoise eggs



## Yvonne G (Sep 30, 2011)

I noticed my biggest leopard female digging a nest a couple days ago, and finally remembered tonight to dig them up. I adopted out my males about 2 years ago, and she never dug a nest since not being bred. However, there were 29 eggs in this hole (I broke 2), with 10 sort of on one side of the nest, and 19 sort of on the other side...so I think it was actually two nests. I noticed a couple weeks ago that she had mud on her back end and back feet, but I was unable to find a nest. They do a lot of peeing when they are digging in hard dirt, and by the time they lay the eggs, the ground is pretty muddy.

So, about 2 years since being bred, is still in the realm of possibly fertile. However, last time she dug a nest, I still had the males, so I figured she had laid all her fertile eggs. Well, time will tell:


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## Claireabbo (Sep 30, 2011)

cool!!


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## dmmj (Sep 30, 2011)

WOW sounds like a lot of eggs at your place, how are the emy emy eggs doing?


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## ewam (Sep 30, 2011)

Wow 29 eggs is a lot isn't it?


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## lynnedit (Sep 30, 2011)

You are certainly a tortoise egg nursery these days!


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## dmarcus (Sep 30, 2011)

Cool hope they are fertile...


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## chase thorn (Sep 30, 2011)

i would love a hatchling!


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## Yvonne G (Sep 30, 2011)

dmmj said:


> WOW sounds like a lot of eggs at your place, how are the emy emy eggs doing?



They all collapsed. Bummer.



chase thorn said:


> i would love a hatchling!



Well, give me about 3 months. If any of them hatch, and you want to drive out here to pick one up, you're welcome to have one.


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## chase thorn (Sep 30, 2011)

emysemys said:


> dmmj said:
> 
> 
> > WOW sounds like a lot of eggs at your place, how are the emy emy eggs doing?
> ...





if only i had a car...


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## Neal (Sep 30, 2011)

PM me if any of those eggs are fertile please. (assuming you would want to sell them or whatever)


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## Yvonne G (Sep 30, 2011)

Well, I hate to count my chickens before they hatch, but same goes for you...if they hatch and you want to drive to California to pick one or more up, you're more than welcome to them. The eggs actually look pretty darned good. They are every one of them chalked. But time will tell.


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## chase thorn (Sep 30, 2011)

emysemys said:


> Well, I hate to count my chickens before they hatch, but same goes for you...if they hatch and you want to drive to California to pick one or more up, you're more than welcome to them. The eggs actually look pretty darned good. They are every one of them chalked. But time will tell.



are you against shipping?


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## dmmj (Sep 30, 2011)

That is a bummer about the emy emy eggs.


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## Yvonne G (Sep 30, 2011)

Shipping baby tortoises isn't one of my favorite things.


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## chase thorn (Sep 30, 2011)

emysemys said:


> Shipping baby tortoises isn't one of my favorite things.



i cant argue with that.  im not a 100% on the idea myself.


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## DesertGrandma (Oct 1, 2011)

How exciting. Just curious...can you dig them up at any time and incubate them? Is the female GPB or GPP? Will be fun to follow their development.


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## Tom (Oct 1, 2011)

Holy cow! 19 eggs on the one side. That's a pretty big load of eggs.

We just had a discussion about leopards retaining sperm from previous breedings. The general consensus was that they can retain it and produce fertile eggs for at least three years, and some people think as long as five or six years.


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## Yvonne G (Oct 1, 2011)

DesertGrandma said:


> How exciting. Just curious...can you dig them up at any time and incubate them? Is the female GPB or GPP? Will be fun to follow their development.



Yes you can. If you get to the nest right away, you don't have to be careful with the orientation of the egg, but if you dig them up after they've had a chance to start to grow, you have to keep them in the same position you find them in. Supposedly, the embryo will be crushed (suffocate?) if you turn them once they've started to grow.

The female is a Babcock.


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## Stephanie (Oct 1, 2011)

Whoa, that's a lot of eggs! They look purdy! Congratulations!


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## dmmj (Oct 1, 2011)

Didn't danny say ( I think) that the eggs need to dipause to be fertile?


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## Yvonne G (Oct 1, 2011)

No, not to be fertile. They're either fertile or they're not. But I think he was talking about the South African leopards hatching easier with a diapause. I raised over 100 babcock with no diapause.


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## stephiiberrybean (Oct 2, 2011)

Thats a lot of eggs. Can't wait to see if they hatch and baby pictures.

If only i didn't live across the pond, i'd come and get some.


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## cdmay (Oct 2, 2011)

emysemys said:


> No, not to be fertile. They're either fertile or they're not. But I think he was talking about the South African leopards hatching easier with a diapause. I raised over 100 babcock with no diapause.



I have also hatched many, many _babcocki_ eggs with no diapause but my friends who breed _pardalis pardalis _say that diapause is required for them.
The taxonomists insist that the two forms are not sub-species but there are some real differences between the populations.


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## vickihale (Oct 2, 2011)

I bet that's 2 nests. My 22 pound female usually lays 10 to 14 eggs per clutch.
That's a lot of eggs! You will have fun watching those eggs for the next few months and more fun watching the hatchlings. Got my fingers crossed they're viable!
Vicki Hale
http://tortoiseyard.com


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## Yvonne G (Oct 2, 2011)

Hi Vicki:

Nice to see you here.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was two nests. There was a space between two clumps of eggs of about 2". I hope they're fertile.


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## evlinLoutries (Oct 5, 2011)

nice!
I'd love to have that moment to in the next 5 or 10 years..


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## Yvonne G (Nov 9, 2011)

Well, I think its a pretty good bet that these eggs aren't fertile.

I went out this evening to close all the doors and make sure everyone is ok and this is what I see in the Leopard pen:







This is the same female that dug the nest in this thread. 

This picture is to give you an idea how they are able to dig in really dry, hard earth:





That's a lot of pee to make that mud like that.

So I guess I have a chicken. She's going to lay eggs whether she's been bred or not.


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## ewam (Nov 9, 2011)

Why does digging nest mean that the eggs aren't fertile?


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## dmmj (Nov 9, 2011)

bummer, maybe she is practicing until she gets a BF.


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## gopherhockey03 (Nov 9, 2011)

O bummer =(


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## Yvonne G (Nov 9, 2011)

Hi Eric:

There hasn't been a male with my females for about 2 or 3 years...I really can't remember how long its been. Since she has started another nest, I think its a pretty sure bet that the eggs aren't fertile. I THOUGHT the last batch MIGHT be fertile, but now another nest with no male, probably not fertile.


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## GotTurtles (Nov 9, 2011)

I had a adult redfoot a few years ago(more like 10). She was only with another female and the 3rd year I had her she laid the first eggs that I know of. 2 of 5 eggs hatched and she laid two more clutches and 3 hatched before I moved and sold her. She was wild caught but thats 3 years without a male. Good luck with your eggs.


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## dmmj (Nov 9, 2011)

So are you gonna keep incubating them anyways?


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## babylove6635 (Nov 9, 2011)

i really hope they are fertile good luck


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## Yvonne G (Nov 9, 2011)

dmmj said:


> So are you gonna keep incubating them anyways?



No. I've got 28 eggs from her previous two clutches in the incubator. That's enough. 

I went back out after dark and she was still digging the hole, so I moved her into the tortoise house. It was already 45 degrees and she was cold.


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## Yvonne G (Nov 10, 2011)

This a.m. there were 15 eggs on the floor of the tortoise house. I wish there were a way to make them stop laying eggs.

You know...all this time I've been saying she isn't with a male, and yet I'm forgetting my little male, first leopard egg I ever hatched. He's about 4 or 5 years old. He's quite a bit smaller than the female, but I wonder.....if she's receptive and stands still for him, maybe he can reach all the right parts. I've never seen him breeding the girls, though.

In case any of you were wondering, the nest was about 8" deep when I pulled her off it.


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## ewam (Nov 10, 2011)

emysemys said:


> Hi Eric:
> 
> There hasn't been a male with my females for about 2 or 3 years...I really can't remember how long its been. Since she has started another nest, I think its a pretty sure bet that the eggs aren't fertile. I THOUGHT the last batch MIGHT be fertile, but now another nest with no male, probably not fertile.



Ok, well let's hope that something hatches from one of those eggs.


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