# Young Female Leopard Having Trouble Laying Eggs - Please Help



## sstephenson (Dec 26, 2013)

I have a young adult Gpb that seems to be having a problem laying her first clutch. She's about 10" straight line and has never layed before. For each of the last two days she has come out of her heated tortoise house and dug shallow holes. She then backs into the hole and sits, apparently ready to lay eggs. This evening she stayed at the hole until well after dark and temps were rapidly dropping outside. Concerned about the low temp, I ultimately decided to put her back inside the heated house. Is this unusual for a young female? Should I be concerned? Is there something I can do to help her? As you may have guessed, this is new for me too :s


----------



## WillTort2 (Dec 26, 2013)

I don't know much about laying eggs; but wishing your the best of luck.


----------



## Yvonne G (Dec 27, 2013)

This doesn't seem unusual. They sometimes dig several test nests, seem to hover over one or the other of them, sometimes they'll even cover up an empty nest. I don't know if this is a camouflage tactic or not. If she is still on an empty nest and it starts to get cold or dark, you can position a light over her to keep her warm. This is just the way it goes. And it seems to happen with leopards more often than not. I have an old garden chair that is all welded wire. Whenever I have a female still at a nest after dark I place the chair over her and put a CHE on the seat so it shines down on her back. 

It's not time to worry just yet. If she's in distress and straining, then you can worry.


----------



## Sulcata_Sandy (Dec 27, 2013)

My RF finally laid after a week of nesting behavior. I'm still learning about tortoise nesting behavior, but it seems they make several attempts before finding the right time and place, then suddenly, EGGS! I got a batch on Christmas night. [SMILING FACE WITH SMILING EYES]

Do you have an incubator all warmed up and ready? That was my mistake. I knew she was thinking about it, and with the busy week of Christmas, I didn't round up an incubator in time, so I had to get really creative that night. I'd have one all plugged in and temps/humidity stabilized now, as it takes awhile. [GROWING HEART]


----------



## sstephenson (Dec 27, 2013)

Thanks all!

Great idea about the chair and the ceramic heater! I'll definitely be doing that tonight if she's in the same situation.

I do have an incubator ready to go. After two straight days of false starts I decided it was high time to get it ready last night. I'm just getting the temp dialed in right now.


----------



## Greg T (Dec 27, 2013)

My other female is carrying her first clutch also. She has dug about 4 holes but not laid yet. My first female also dug 4 or 5 holes before finally laying, so it is not uncommon for the first clutch to take a while. After that, they dig and lay each time. I haven't let mine finish laying yet because it got cold outside, so I imagine once I can move her back out, she'll dig another hole and maybe lay this time.

Don't worry yet, and wait to you see how deep they can dig a hole! It is amazing to watch them.

P.S., if she does lay, let her totally finish covering up the hole and packing it down, which may take an hour or more. If you move her before that, she will not be happy. Been there before.


----------



## sstephenson (Dec 27, 2013)

Thanks again all. It was a rather uneventful day in the tortoise pen as far as I can tell. I was gone all day, but don't see any freshly dug earth and yesterday's hole is still unused. She has retired into the heated house for the evening.

Yes, I have hard clay soil, and I was amazed that she managed to dig down about 6" yesterday. Can't wait to see what she does when the main event takes place. Thanks again for the tips. I won't disturb her if she starts laying. As suggested, I'll set up the CHE if she goes into the night. Outside temps are in the 40s overnight.


----------



## bigred (Dec 27, 2013)

I dont know much about leopards laying but Like yvonne said you can put a basking light above her to keep her warm when she is digging and it is cold. I do this with my redfoots when they are laying


----------



## TortieLuver (Dec 27, 2013)

Everything you are describing is completely normal for egg laying. Great advice from everyone, as that would be my recommendation...I want to see the eggs when she lays them


----------



## RGB (Dec 28, 2013)

Sometimes tortoises "phantom nest". That means they go through the whole ritual as if they are egg laying (including the aggressive behaviour before nesting) without ever laying an egg. I presume it is due to some sort of a hormonal state. So don't panic if she returns to normal without having laid an egg. I wouldn't be concerned unless she became distressed (you should look up the signs of egg dystocia/ egg bound and be familiar with what to watch for). My experiences are based on breeding Hermanns tortoises- I'll bet leopard tortoises behaviour similar. Hopefully she will lay some eggs for you!


----------



## Greg T (Dec 29, 2013)

She'll lay in due time. Another thing from experience - she won't go back to the same hole again. It is amazing how well they can dig in hard soils. Make sure you give her plenty of water too because they pee a lot to help soften the soils and you don't want her dehydrated.


----------

