# Yellow Foot Laid 7 Eggs



## Turtulas-Len (Jan 13, 2013)

Sally Four Legs, my almost 8 year old yellowfoot tortoise laid 7 eggs early this morning. If they are fertile they will be a cross with a redfoot I believe since the male yellowfoot may be to young. This is the second time that I know that she laid eggs,the first was in the summer of 2011, I found an egg on the surface in her outside enclosure, she may have laid last summer in the outside enclosure and I didn't see nesting. Since I am going to incubate them, I guess the most important question is, what is the best temperature to do it at, I have been slowly raising the temp since this morning and it is 85.5 now. I have never hatched out anything but what is local to where I live, and that is a whole different ballgame. And please don't start a debate about crossing species, if you don't believe it should be done don't respond, it may have happened, but I still want to try to hatch them. Thanks, Len


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## wellington (Jan 13, 2013)

I can't help you. Just wanted to say Congrats and fingers crossed they hatch. Don't forget pics when they do


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## Baoh (Jan 13, 2013)

The temperature you have them at currently should be fine. What is the scl of your male RF? What is the scl of your male YF? How long have you owned the female YF? I have seen precocious 6" scl male YFs ever so rarely get the job done and I have known of a LTC female YF that still managed to have some fertile eggs in a clutch after seven years of tortoise isolation.


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## Turtulas-Len (Jan 13, 2013)

Baoh said:


> The temperature you have them at currently should be fine. What is the scl of your male RF? What is the scl of your male YF? How long have you owned the female YF? I have seen precocious 6" scl male YFs ever so rarely get the job done and I have known of a LTC female YF that still managed to have some fertile eggs in a clutch after seven years of tortoise isolation.


The female YF that laid is 10.5", the male YF is 8" the male RF is 10", I got the CB female at 5 years of age and my understanding is that she had been kept by herself since birth,so the first male she was with was the male YF that I got last spring, and then the male RF that I adopted in late Sept of 2012. I was really surprised when she laid her first egg at 6 years old, and it was smaller then these. I thought they would have to be older.


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## Baoh (Jan 13, 2013)

Very possible that the male YF is the sire at that size, then. Regardless, I hope the incubation bears fruit.


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## Tropical Torts (Jan 13, 2013)

An 8in YF could definitely do the job. There's no way to know for sure until they hatch!


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## skottip (Jan 13, 2013)

Females will lay eggs even if never bred. Like stated in an earlier post, it is possible an 8 inch male may breed. At your current temps, expect to get both sexes. Raise it a few degrees, mostly females, drop it a few, mostly males.
How do you plan to incubate them? Good luck,
Scott


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## tortadise (Jan 13, 2013)

Your temps sound solid for good incubation of this species. Given the size of male to female ratio. This is plausible that fertility took place within same species. If the female YF was 13+" and the male 8" I would begin to wonder. I would keep your temps same margin and hope for the best. In my collection of YF I tend to rarely see breeding during the day and always at dusk and early after the sun(daylight) has siezed so its very possible the male has done his job. I have many young males from 8-10" try to breed very aggressively with older, younger, and everything in between specimens and seen fertility. Good luck len.


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## Turtulas-Len (Jan 13, 2013)

skottip said:


> Females will lay eggs even if never bred. Like stated in an earlier post, it is possible an 8 inch male may breed. At your current temps, expect to get both sexes. Raise it a few degrees, mostly females, drop it a few, mostly males.
> How do you plan to incubate them? Good luck,
> Scott


Please don't laugh,I'm am old and still do things the old way sometimes, First a piece of glass, then a waterproof heat pad that was bought at Dart Drug in 1973,a ten gallon aquarium, a tupperware type container with holes drilled, some moistened perlite, a screen top with a piece of aluminum covering it.Simple but it has worked for me before.


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## tortadise (Jan 13, 2013)

Looks fantastic Len. I find no hysteria in this as you stated. I believe a good amount of the older methods of incubation work quite well. The good old incubator filled with water with an aquarium heater in the water style works perfect. Same as this method. YF eggs tend to like a variety of cool to warm temperatures anyways.


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## Yvonne G (Jan 13, 2013)

Congratulations, Len!!!! I hope they hatch. And of course we won't laugh (covers screen with left hand and laughs til tears come out both ends). If it works why change it. However, I WOULD change the perlite to vermiculite. No reason, just a personal choice.


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