# I can't explain it, can you?



## Arizona Sulcata (Apr 27, 2012)

Here's my situation... My male Sulcata has been sick so he has been in quarantine for quite some time now. The last time this female laid, the male was in quarantine so they've had no chance of mating since she last laid eggs. Today that female laid 30 eggs... How is that possible? I'm quite baffled. No other males have had any access to her and yes I'm positive all the others are female.


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## wellington (Apr 27, 2012)

Female Tortoises can hold sperm for years. Someone on here has had a batch and she hasn't been with a male for I think two years.


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## Yvonne G (Apr 27, 2012)

Well, she dug a nest and laid eggs, but only time will tell if they're fertile.

After I separated a pair of sulcatas here, and before finding a new home for the female, she actually dug and laid 4 more nests...and she was totally alone in her pen.


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## Kristina (Apr 27, 2012)

Female tortoises do not HAVE to be inseminated in order to lay eggs, just like chickens or any other bird or reptile, they can lay unfertilized eggs. Just because she laid eggs, doesn't mean they are fertile, as said above, only time will tell.


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## Arizona Sulcata (Apr 27, 2012)

Thank you! Lets hope they're fertile... Haha


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## Katherine (Apr 27, 2012)

Sulcatas have a copulatory bursa and can store sperm in conditions that mimic the male organ which produces them for an undocumented length of time. I will bet your eggs are fertile. Good luck


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## Tom (Apr 27, 2012)

Jerry Fife did a presentation at the TTPG conference last year, and it seems that sulcatas do not retain sperm for as long as some other species, like leopards for example. Fertility dropped off sharply for the second clutch after a breeding, and was at zero for the third clutch. 

I think this is one reason why sulcatas copulate SOOOOOOO much, and other species seem to be more seasonal and relaxed about it. My male sulcatas go every day with rare exception on the cold rainy days that they all stay in the box.


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## cdmay (Apr 28, 2012)

Tom said:


> Jerry Fife did a presentation at the TTPG conference last year, and it seems that sulcatas do not retain sperm for as long as some other species, like leopards for example. Fertility dropped off sharply for the second clutch after a breeding, and was at zero for the third clutch.
> 
> I think this is one reason why sulcatas copulate SOOOOOOO much, and other species seem to be more seasonal and relaxed about it. My male sulcatas go every day with rare exception on the cold rainy days that they all stay in the box.



Interesting. I've never heard that before but I guess it makes sense.


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## Katherine (Apr 28, 2012)

Tom said:


> My male sulcatas go every day with rare exception on the cold rainy days that they all stay in the box.


Just once? Slackers 
I separate my one of my female in particular periodically because although she stresses on removal from the clan, she shows carapace wear it and it makes me anxious. 3-9 months has never affected the fertility of her eggs. I wish I would have seen that presentation, do you remember the length of time he had separated them for prior to checking fertility?


I always speculated that they copulate sooo much because in their natural environment they may not come across eachother everyday so it would behoove them to breed every time the opportunity arose. Additionally I hypothesized that this may be why visual barriers slow down breeding a bit. (If my females are out of sight, my males grazes. If they are in his range of view, he pursues and breeds.) Since no one had a concrete answer this is just what imagined to be the case, could be completely offbase!


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## Tom (Apr 28, 2012)

My males hunt their females down. They are certainly opportunists too, but I have seen them marching around apparently hunting something. When they see the female they were looking for they charge straight at her and go to work. My enclosure is very large and is built around four sides of a building there are lots of visual barriers and several "wings", so they can all get away from each other and the male. My males will walk the entire length up and down relentlessly until they find what they are after.

I don't remember the time frames for Jerry's sulcata, but I don't recall it being more than a few months. I'm sure you could email him and ask for the details. He presented it as an anecdote, and obviously much more study would be needed to form a solid conclusion. I too have seen the same anecdotal evidence that he shared, so it does seem believable and correct to me.


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## Katherine (Apr 28, 2012)

Tom said:


> I don't remember the time frames for Jerry's sulcata, but I don't recall it being more than a few months.



Curious. That has definitely not been my experience. One of the many reasons it is great to network with other keepers, sometimes what one of us observes may be the exception rather than the rule.


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