# What Is She Doing ?



## Turtulas-Len (Oct 16, 2015)

This is Alex on Walkers back on May 31 2012, just a couple days old

This is Alex today Oct 16 2015


She seems to be working hard at digging a nest.


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## bouaboua (Oct 16, 2015)

In only little over three years??What did you feed her??


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## Jodie (Oct 16, 2015)

Wow. She looks great. That sure is quick. Keep us posted, if she lays. Is she kept with males?


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## Turtulas-Len (Oct 16, 2015)

bouaboua said:


> In only little over three years??What did you feed her??


Weeds, grasses, opuntia, tree and vine leaves that I grow here, seasonal vegetables and a little fruit. both mazuri types.


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## Turtulas-Len (Oct 16, 2015)

Jodie said:


> Wow. She looks great. That sure is quick. Keep us posted, if she lays. Is she kept with males?


Thanks, She left the hole empty, It looked completed to me, even the small cavity was there. She didn't release any water to wet the soil either. Maybe she will go back to it tomorrow. She was with 2 males all summer but I think one is to big for her and the other is more her size but so deformed I'm not sure he could connect.


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## Turtulas-Len (Oct 20, 2015)

It took 5 days and a lot of work on her part but she finally did it. It was dark and cold this evening, I had put 2 black lights over her to help keep her warm and checked on her often. When I saw that she was in the process of pulling soil back in to refill I reached in behind her and felt for an egg, I found one and stopped digging until tomorrow. There are more but have no idea how many. Up until today she left the hole and would go into her house in the early evening well before sundown. Today she left the hole around noon and ate some ls mazuri, cactus fruit, and a little dried lawn that was re-moistened and then went back to work on making the nest. I was starting to get concerned with her working on a nest for several hours a day and then just walking away from it. The whole time she ate and drank and pooped normal though.

It was dark out when these were taken. I just plopped one egg out will get the rest out tomorrow.

She might not be the smallest but could be one of the youngest to lay eggs. I thought Enoch at 5 years old was young. Just goes to show how much we don't know about them.


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## Jodie (Oct 20, 2015)

That's great. Congrats!


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## Turtulas-Len (Oct 20, 2015)

Jodie said:


> That's great. Congrats!


Thanks


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## Prairie Mom (Oct 20, 2015)

I'm so impressed that you put the lights out for her and took such good care of her. You're a good tortoise dad


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## AnimalLady (Oct 21, 2015)

what a gorgeous soon to be tort mommy!!!


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## Turtulas-Len (Oct 21, 2015)

Dug the remaining eggs out this afternoon, she laid 11, 2 were broke and I'm not sure that I broke them, She had a very nice hourglass shape hole for them in our mostly clay, rocks, and seashell soil. I really don't have much confidence in any of these eggs from either Alex or Enoch being fertile, but stranger things have happened.


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## AnimalLady (Oct 21, 2015)

Did you try to patch the broken ones?


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## Turtulas-Len (Oct 21, 2015)

No they were beyond repairing,even if I knew how to do that I buried them when I filled the hole up. Here she is late this evening having a snack before settling in for the night.


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## AnimalLady (Oct 22, 2015)

Yummy cactus fruit! I love that stuff and eat it too 
She's such a pretty girl!


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## Turtulas-Len (Nov 13, 2015)

Alex is doing it again. She started working on a new nest in the same spot as the first nest this morning Nov 13 (Friday).

She stopped working for a while, ate some food and went inside her house and it sounded like she was trying to dig through the floor. I hung a CHE above the nest area while she inside digging at the floor.


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## Turtulas-Len (Nov 14, 2015)

She is still perfecting the nest as of 4:30 pm Sat, hopefully she lays tonight.


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## Yvonne G (Nov 14, 2015)

Oh lordy....can she get any deeper?


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## Jacqui (Nov 14, 2015)

I think you should rename her Digger.


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## Turtulas-Len (Nov 14, 2015)

Yvonne G said:


> Oh lordy....can she get any deeper?


I know, She is a digger. When she first starts everything is done head first like digging a tunnel to china. She turns around and uses her back feet and then turns again and goes at it head first for awhile, but when she is satisfied with her work she has a beautiful hourglass shaped chamber for the eggs at the bottom of the nest, but both nest she has dug have been so deep the babies could never dig out of our mostly clay soil if left in place. Being a beginner she does a great job. and she got this clutch laid in less than 36 hours from first signs of nesting to start of egg covering much faster than her first clutch. Our temps today were in the mid 50s so I added some heat from above the nest area to help keep things warm. By the time she had finished around 8 pm the air temperature was in the mid 30s. ( going to be our coldest night this fall)

A pic of the eggs still in the ground above and 19 fresh eggs on a plate below, that's 8 more than her first clutch


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## Turtulas-Len (Dec 9, 2015)

Alex is laying again. It has been chilly here during the day and Alex has shown signs of getting ready to lay her third clutch of eggs this fall, so before we made our Wed rounds I turned the lights on over her nesting area just in case today was the day.

This is what I found when we got back a little before 4 pm. She was still working on the nest at that time but I believe she is in the process of laying now at 5 pm.


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## MPRC (Dec 9, 2015)

Busy lady!


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## Turtulas-Len (Dec 9, 2015)

She finished laying10 eggs after sundown, I let her cover them for a while since she was warm from the lights. I moved her into her house for the night and dug the eggs up.



She does dig a deep nest.


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## motero (Dec 10, 2015)

Fantastic photos thanks for sharing.


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## Turtulas-Len (Jan 8, 2016)

Alex is nesting again,


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## wellington (Jan 8, 2016)

Wow, that's one busy girl you have there. Congrats. I can't believe how big she is in such a short time. Good luck with the eggs, keep us posted on them and her too.


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## Jacqui (Jan 9, 2016)

Again?


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## Turtulas-Len (Jan 10, 2016)

She has everything in it's right place now, (I think). She is not quick, but consistent with her nesting process. I'm pretty sure she will lay tonight, day 3, A pic from around sundown


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## Jacqui (Jan 12, 2016)

How are the previous eggs looking?


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