# Russian Tortoise has eggs... how long till she lays?



## Kamerus88 (Feb 7, 2015)

Hey everyone,

I am currently a grad student studying Diamondback Terrapin reproductive physiology. Luckily this has enabled me access to some nice fancy toys, such as a mobile ultrasound unit.

This winter I overwintered my Russian tortoises for the first time fully and the results Ive been looking for appear to have happened. I was able to monitor my female Natasha's ovarian cycle for the past month and it appears she finally has an egg. It's not palpable but the Ultrasound clearly shows a shelled egg compared to Follicles from weeks past. It's been about a week since I observed it on the Ultrasound and so far she hasn't attempted to nest.

1) Has anyone documented how long it took their female tort to nest after the appearance of eggs?

2) Anytips of getting her to nest? I've provided a nesting enclosure with about a foot of moist sand/peat moss combination but she's been more eager to tunnel in it than to nest.

Enjoy the photos of her Ultrasounds regardless.

Cheers all!


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## dmmj (Feb 8, 2015)

How neat, if I remember correctly 3 weeks, 21 days for gestation.


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## Jodie (Feb 8, 2015)

Those are neat pictures. Knowing this just makes the waiting longer though. Lol. It's bad enough waiting for them to lay once they start digging. Then you have to wait for them to hatch. Definitely good information though. Glad there are more patient people in this world than I am.


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## Kamerus88 (Feb 28, 2015)

FYI she popped two lovely eggs out this week! Not sure if they are fertile but I'm gonna let them sit in the incubator for at least a couple weeks before making any calls! Super excited!


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## Kamerus88 (Feb 28, 2015)




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## TortsNTurtles (Feb 28, 2015)

Kamerus88 said:


> FYI she popped two lovely eggs out this week! Not sure if they are fertile but I'm gonna let them sit in the incubator for at least a couple weeks before making any calls! Super excited!



Congrats! You have a fun study going on both for school and your Russian. Keep us posted !


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## Kamerus88 (Mar 3, 2015)

Ultrasounds show TWO more shelled eggs developing this week. Clutch number two on the way! Of the two eggs she played, only one appears fertile though. Will be interesting to see what the next batch holds!


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## Jodie (Mar 3, 2015)

Congrats. That's really neat.


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