# Why they still lay eggs?



## ZEROPILOT (Jul 22, 2017)

I have a herd of Redfoot. 2 males and 5 females. One of those males is immature.
The females are always dropping eggs. I currently have 2 incubators full of eggs and another God only knows how many more out in the pen. I'm thinking a total of 70-80 eggs.
I want the breeding to stop and have posted my largest male for sale. He is a beautiful specimen.
Question is once a female lays eggs. Will she continue to do so..like a chicken, forever?
I understand that I can expect fertilized eggs for many months without a male, but will the egg laying then stop? At least 3 and maybe 4 of my 5 females are out there right now digging and dropping.
Is there an OFF button?


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## daniellenc (Jul 22, 2017)

lol I have no advise but I can tell you my female geckos even without a male laid several times a year. Thankfully they only lay two eggs at a time. Now you're scaring me hoping Skurt is male.


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## ZEROPILOT (Jul 22, 2017)

I imagine that egg production is rough on them.
I'd like to stop it.


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## daniellenc (Jul 22, 2017)

If their reproduction is anything like geckos in colder months with shorter light cycles they usually stop. I always bulked them up on calcium since egg production requires so much but have never found a way to stop it. Spring and summer they always laid duds like clockwork. How does everyone else handle this?


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## Tom (Jul 22, 2017)

ZEROPILOT said:


> I imagine that egg production is rough on them.
> I'd like to stop it.



How many eggs do they lay per clutch?

Imagine all these people with multiple sulcatas. I just hatched 57 babies out of two clutches.


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## ZEROPILOT (Jul 22, 2017)

Generally 4,5 or6.
And the eggs are larger each time.
Nearly 60mm
From 28mm.
5 of 8 of the tiny, first eggs hatched.


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## Tom (Jul 22, 2017)

ZEROPILOT said:


> Generally 4,5 or6.
> And the eggs are larger each time.
> Nearly 60mm
> From 28mm.
> 5 of 8 of the tiny, first eggs hatched.



6 eggs per clutch??? PSSSSSShhhhhhhh… What are you complaining about? Just suck it up man.


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## Yvonne G (Jul 22, 2017)

I think eventually they will stop laying, but it may take a few years.


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## ZEROPILOT (Jul 23, 2017)

It's something to consider and something to point out to others.
It's hard on the females. A pain for me and no one locally wants the babies.
At least with dud eggs I can just up the calcium and throw them away.
I feel pretty badly about ever starting with this breeding idea.


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## ZEROPILOT (Jul 23, 2017)

Tom said:


> 6 eggs per clutch??? PSSSSSShhhhhhhh… What are you complaining about? Just suck it up man.


Like most things, it could always be worse?


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## wellington (Jul 23, 2017)

ZEROPILOT said:


> It's something to consider and something to point out to others.
> It's hard on the females. A pain for me and no one locally wants the babies.
> At least with dud eggs I can just up the calcium and throw them away.
> I feel pretty badly about ever starting with this breeding idea.


From my understanding with most reptiles, including tortoises, females will drop eggs until they get too old. They will drop eggs if never with a male. 
Just stop collecting the eggs for incubation. Throw them away. It sounds cruel, but when they are dropped/laid, it's not really a baby tortoise yet.


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## Anyfoot (Jul 23, 2017)

ZEROPILOT said:


> I have a herd of Redfoot. 2 males and 5 females. One of those males is immature.
> The females are always dropping eggs. I currently have 2 incubators full of eggs and another God only knows how many more out in the pen. I'm thinking a total of 70-80 eggs.
> I want the breeding to stop and have posted my largest male for sale. He is a beautiful specimen.
> Question is once a female lays eggs. Will she continue to do so..like a chicken, forever?
> ...


 You are the guy who in time will be able to answer your own questions for us all. 
I thought once the egg cycle starts it doesn't stop until they get too old. I think I read somewhere that sulcata can produce fertile eggs up to 5 years after copulating. So if reds are similar then 5 females averaging 5 eggs per clutch at around 5 clutches per yr for 5 yrs that's 5x5x5x5= 625 to play safe lets say you only have an 80% hatch rate that's only 500 babies you need to find homes for. Stop panicking Ed. 
Can't stop laughing


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## Tom (Jul 23, 2017)

Sulcatas don't retain sperm for very long. Fertility rate stars dropping immediately and hits zero within a few months after the male is gone. Its leopards that can produce fertile eggs five years later. I don't know where RFs stand on this spectrum.

In my experience with leopards, sulcatas, russians and DTs, if there is no male present, the females don't lay eggs in the next egg-laying season, or they lay far fewer with greater intervals in-between. There are exceptions to this, of course. Again, I have no idea how RFs operate in this regard.


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## Anyfoot (Jul 23, 2017)

Tom said:


> Sulcatas don't retain sperm for very long. Fertility rate stars dropping immediately and hits zero within a few months after the male is gone. Its leopards can


Cheers tom. I wonder if the sperm retention is relevant to how often the male and females are likely to cross paths in the wild. So in some species a female may not come into contact with a male for a few seasons and rely on sperm retention. Are leopards more solitary than Sulcata? If there is some connection in that theory you would expect redfoots to stop laying fertile eggs pretty quick.


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## Tom (Jul 23, 2017)

Anyfoot said:


> Cheers tom. I wonder if the sperm retention is relevant to how often the male and females are likely to cross paths in the wild. So in some species a female may not come into contact with a male for a few seasons and rely on sperm retention. Are leopards more solitary than Sulcata? If there is some connection in that theory you would expect redfoots to stop laying fertile eggs pretty quick.


I have none of these answers. Only guesses. I do notice that sulcatas mate a lot more often in general compared to other species, but I really don't know much at all about this sort of thing in regards to RFs.

Given their fossorial lifestyle, I'd guess that sulcatas see the opposite sex less often than leopards that are wandering around all over the place above ground all day. Sulcatas just sit in their burrow and don't go anywhere.


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## daniellenc (Jul 23, 2017)

wellington said:


> From my understanding with most reptiles, including tortoises, females will drop eggs until they get too old. They will drop eggs if never with a male.
> Just stop collecting the eggs for incubation. Throw them away. It sounds cruel, but when they are dropped/laid, it's not really a baby tortoise yet.



I second this. Most geckos only retain for a few months but will absolutely lay every few months regardless given the proper diet and habitat. When I had enough fertile eggs to deal with and the males had been pulled I simply tossed the eggs.......they are no shortage of RF's here like geckos. It may sound mean but seriously why stress? Breeding is more for personal enjoyment as it is so if you're at capacity get to tossing. As far as selling look into wholesale sales through major reptile companies down there you have many to choose from. I sold at local shows, shipped, chose my hold backs, and wholesaled the rest. You got this!!


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## seanang168 (Jul 24, 2017)

In some countries, they do eat tortoise or turtle eggs..


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## ZEROPILOT (Jul 24, 2017)

I've been feeding some extra eggs back to the adults as it is.


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## Anyfoot (Jul 24, 2017)

I scrambled five tort eggs the other day to feed back, Left them outside on wall to cool down in bowl, 5 minutes later I went to feed the egg and it was all gone. My dog eats anything.


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## ZEROPILOT (Jul 30, 2017)

A TFO member from far away Tampa Florida came and purchased both of my males this morning.
They had a nine hour drive.
Very nice folks with a suitable enclosure. I gave them the "friends" price.
Now I have all females.


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## ZEROPILOT (Aug 4, 2017)

CRAP!!
19 more eggs.............


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## Anyfoot (Aug 4, 2017)

ZEROPILOT said:


> CRAP!!
> 19 more eggs.............


Hahahaha


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## ZEROPILOT (Aug 4, 2017)

Anyfoot said:


> Hahahaha


Thanks


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## ZEROPILOT (Aug 5, 2017)

I was just working on my fish pond project and heard a clucking sound.
Apparently I had 3 males.
Will I attempt to sell the 3rd?
I'm not sure.
I'm just tired.


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## Anyfoot (Aug 6, 2017)

ZEROPILOT said:


> Thanks


Karma.


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## daniellenc (Aug 7, 2017)

Did you maybe sell one female by accident? Lol sorry but it's kind of funny cause I'm not you of course hehe


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