# Sulcata Nesting



## Fungooli (Jan 14, 2013)

Just found this sight, don't know why it took so long as basically I'm just an old animal lover who people somehow seem to locate when they need to give away tortoises, turtles, exotic birds, etc. I have plenty of resources but not the time for all so I find a lot of good homes for many as well. Anyway, rescuing/adopting a pair of sulcatas tonight to go along with my 100lb male and 25lb female. My 2 live separated but the 2 I'm bringing in tonight 45lb male and 35lb female we believe are mating and the female is laying eggs. I live in NJ so my guys are inside for the winter and I'm building a pen in my basement for tonight's arrival. The pen has a concrete floor I will cover with hay and mulch. The guy bringing me the sulcatas seems to know what he's talking about (problems with wife he claims) and from the pics, they look healthy and properly cared for. He told me she had a clutch of maybe 4-5 eggs on a solid floor a few weeks back and than 1 egg during a car ride and thinks once she gets settled down into a permanent home she'll let loose. Now I know she's not going to dig a 2 ft. deep nest through the concrete and was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on an above ground nesting area as I've never had any experience with this other than finding some small tortoise or box turtle eggs here and there. 
I don't intend to become a breeder but thought it would be neat to try and hatch a clutch. I would keep one or 2 for awhile and easily find good homes for any extras. Like I said, just looking for any suggestions on getting me a few eggs and also looking for info on an inexpensive but decent incubator, store bought or home made.....Thanx


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## Laura (Jan 14, 2013)

you can try a kiddie pool and fill with dirt/sand, cut a opening in the side and allow her to climb in and lay.. 
Hovabator? might be the brand name for an incubator.. some feed store sell them for Chicks. you DO NOT want an egg turner..


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## Fungooli (Jan 15, 2013)

Laura said:


> you can try a kiddie pool and fill with dirt/sand, cut a opening in the side and allow her to climb in and lay..
> Hovabator? might be the brand name for an incubator.. some feed store sell them for Chicks. you DO NOT want an egg turner..



Thanx Laura, great idea and I actually have one about 3-4 ft round and a ft deep that would fit perfect in the pen I built. Was actually checking out the Hovabator on ebay, seem pretty popular. Guy dropped off the sulcatas last night, they're a really sweet looking pair, not too big, and nice and healthy.


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## Mick.Ire (Jan 15, 2013)

I know it's tempting to incubate eggs but I heard there is a lot of Sulcatas out there needing homes. Check it out in your area and see if you definately can get babies to a good home. Sullys can lay up to two dozen eggs (although rare) but their clutches can be sizable. Here in Ireland we are already getting calls about rehoming sulcatas, just rehomed one last week so imagine it's ten fold in the US.

If you think you can definately move them on make sure your pool is deep enough, you don't want her digging and hitting ground. If it's not build a wall around one end with ply wood or MDF and create a slope up to the deepest point. Hang a lamp over it and this should encourage her to dig. We always make sure our female torts are alone when nesting, some will be reluctant if there is others around and start climbing the walls trying to find another spot. We've never tried to breed Sulcatas but have seen this recently with our Leopards. 

Baby Sullys are beautiful so if you do incubate best of luck and be sure to keep us posted. 

Cheers Mick.


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## Tony the tank (Jan 15, 2013)

You need to give her some place to dig and lay her eggs... If not she might become egg bound... I have a rather lg female.. That would lay a clutch every now and then in the middle of winter... I tried everything to get her to lay indoors bringing in dirt to make a mound that was almost 3 ft deep... She had no interest... So I just opened the door let her go out in the dead of winter she found her own site and started digging I then quickly assembled a box around her and placed several heat lamps in the box with her to keep her warm... When she finished digging her hole..( which is usually 30+") she starts to lay...from start to finish it can take 6-7 hrs... 

Good luck trying o get her to lay in your basement...they seem pretty picky about there nesting site..


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## argus333 (Jan 15, 2013)

im in nj if u need some help. i have extra incubator. i would agree if we get another set of warm days outside may be the answer.


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## Fungooli (Jan 15, 2013)

Mick.Ireland said:


> I know it's tempting to incubate eggs but I heard there is a lot of Sulcatas out there needing homes. Check it out in your area and see if you definately can get babies to a good home. Sullys can lay up to two dozen eggs (although rare) but their clutches can be sizable. Here in Ireland we are already getting calls about rehoming sulcatas, just rehomed one last week so imagine it's ten fold in the US.
> 
> If you think you can definately move them on make sure your pool is deep enough, you don't want her digging and hitting ground. If it's not build a wall around one end with ply wood or MDF and create a slope up to the deepest point. Hang a lamp over it and this should encourage her to dig. We always make sure our female torts are alone when nesting, some will be reluctant if there is others around and start climbing the walls trying to find another spot. We've never tried to breed Sulcatas but have seen this recently with our Leopards.
> 
> ...



I'm 60 and well aware of your concerns, believe me, Mick. Don't seem to be too much of a problem from what I see here in the Northeast US yet. I own a Bar in a big city, Philly, and only know of 3 people besides the guy I got mine from that own them. One got her little guy that was given to me and another is a Vet who lives close by me in S Jersey that rescued her 50lber as well. 3 times, hers escaped and I got calls from neighbors who thought he was mine and returned him to her, got a good tort vet who owes me out of the deal, heheh. I don't give animals to just anyone, trust me, and keep close tabs on even the ones I do. 
The pool I have is only a foot deep tops and close to 3 1/2 ft round taking up much of the 8x8ft pen, a maybe, 2x3 ft slope, 30 or so inches deep may take up less room and work better. And compared to the male Mick, it does seem like she's trying to get out. Tony, Boston has to be colder than S Jersey, think I'd be afraid to let her out there for any length of time especially since she's never been out in my yard before, hmm. Now the guy I got them from is telling me this is the first time he's seen eggs so I'm figuring she's new at it and her first eggs were laid on a solid floor and in a car. Wonder if I can fool her into a new system? Guess, I'm gonna have to do some thinking and play this one by ear. Her and the 45 lb male seem pretty used to each other, although removing the male sounds like a decent idea. Might have to see how my 100 lb male takes to him. By the way, seen some sullys hatching on You Tube, pretty neat and may have to take a shot even if I have to keep a few of them, heheh. Thanx Guyz.


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## Fungooli (Jan 15, 2013)

argus333 said:


> im in nj if u need some help. i have extra incubator. i would agree if we get another set of warm days outside may be the answer.



Thanx arg, preciate it, I'm in Voorhees. Grabbed a Little Giant off ebay.
Yeah, I guess 50-60 degrees wouldn't be too bad and worth a shot. Supposed to get cold again, we'll see.


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## Mick.Ire (Jan 16, 2013)

Ah great stuff, if you can do it, go for it. I'd love to breed them, we'll see in the future. That's great you have a vet on hand, good vets are hard to come by.
There is no way she'll dig a successful nest in the pool the way it is. The fact it's 3 1/2ft gives you a little room to build up something, like a wall around it so you can increase dept. Our leopards dug down about 12 inches and I've heard Sulcatas dig huge deep nests. Ideal for you would be 3 ft depth. if you could make the entrance just wide enough for her to get through it will leave you more room to play with. The fact she's only new could be a reason why she's climbing the walls, exploring or she could well be gravid. 
The other thing you could do is build a nest box for her, really simple and effective, plus she's on her own. I'll post a pic of the one we did for the leopards although yours would have to be bigger, that is if you have the space. 

Deepest part of this was 13 maybe 14 inches so we got away with it by the skin of our teeth.  












Yeah I'd definately seperate her if possible, don't want her getting stressed and egg bound. I know it's a challenge finding room for such giants, we are more or less at capacity until I get somewhere with more land.


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## Fungooli (Jan 16, 2013)

Mick.Ireland said:


> Ah great stuff, if you can do it, go for it. I'd love to breed them, we'll see in the future. That's great you have a vet on hand, good vets are hard to come by.
> There is no way she'll dig a successful nest in the pool the way it is. The fact it's 3 1/2ft gives you a little room to build up something, like a wall around it so you can increase dept. Our leopards dug down about 12 inches and I've heard Sulcatas dig huge deep nests. Ideal for you would be 3 ft depth. if you could make the entrance just wide enough for her to get through it will leave you more room to play with. The fact she's only new could be a reason why she's climbing the walls, exploring or she could well be gravid.
> The other thing you could do is build a nest box for her, really simple and effective, plus she's on her own. I'll post a pic of the one we did for the leopards although yours would have to be bigger, that is if you have the space.
> 
> ...



Cool Mick, decided to build out what seems to be her favorite corner with plywood, but with your suggestion, I may just keep going and make it 4 sided like 4x4x4, give it 3 ft of dirt, leaving a foot high barrier, than hang a lamp. this would give her the depth and privacy. Does it need a lid or ceiling? Been checking out a bunch of sully nests online and have seen some that appear to be slightly over a foot deep. Just fed her about an hour ago, a nice fresh wet head of romaine and some store bought dandelion. Male scoffed the dandelion right out of my hand then knocked down the romaine, she looked at hers but didn't eat it. Knowing sullys like I do, this concerned me a bit, although she ate the night I got her and yesterday. Her corner is away from the heat lamps, guess the temp is ok with both, but I put her and the food under the lamp and will go check in awhile. Thanx again Mick!


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## argus333 (Jan 16, 2013)

maybe make a small greenhouse outside, some 2x3s and some plastic and some 4x8s for a box on the bottom. plus u can add some heat lights.


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## Fungooli (Jan 16, 2013)

Mick.Ireland said:


> Ah great stuff, if you can do it, go for it. I'd love to breed them, we'll see in the future. That's great you have a vet on hand, good vets are hard to come by.
> There is no way she'll dig a successful nest in the pool the way it is. The fact it's 3 1/2ft gives you a little room to build up something, like a wall around it so you can increase dept. Our leopards dug down about 12 inches and I've heard Sulcatas dig huge deep nests. Ideal for you would be 3 ft depth. if you could make the entrance just wide enough for her to get through it will leave you more room to play with. The fact she's only new could be a reason why she's climbing the walls, exploring or she could well be gravid.
> The other thing you could do is build a nest box for her, really simple and effective, plus she's on her own. I'll post a pic of the one we did for the leopards although yours would have to be bigger, that is if you have the space.
> 
> ...



Thanx Mick, replied a few hours but either my old butt forgot to hit the post button or they have me on a newbie 5 post spam probation so if a similar post pops up, you'll know why. I was going to build up her favorite corner on 2 sides but I like your nest box better. I think I'm going to go with a box 3x4or5x4 ft high, giving her 3ft of dirt/ peat moss, no slope, and a foot barrier wall with a hanging lamp. She won't know she's in the second floor penthouse and will be separated from the male. 
If my first post shows up, there was something in it about her not eating and a little concern seeing how these sullys eat everything. Went down there and she had her head in the water drinking away. and then started eating. Read your post ang while I was writing this and think I'm gonna try this box as I heard we have some temps in the teens coming. Should have some pics in a day or so. Thanx again!!


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## Tony the tank (Jan 16, 2013)

I'm pretty sure they just don't dig a hole anywhere... From what I have noticed my female likes to nest against something.. I have also notice that she turns her inside leg ever so slightly as she looks for her nesting place..(I think it's to feel the earth before digging).. And she always lays in an area with full sun..

I'm in Fla now... But when i was up north I tried numerous times to get my female to nest inside...no go....actually just before I left Boston ( Dec27th)she was doing her leg thing in her pen.. Not two hrs after arriving here (Dec29th)she dug her nest and laid a clutch..


Good luck... Let us/me know if you get her to lay indoors..


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## Fungooli (Jan 16, 2013)

Tony the tank said:


> I'm pretty sure they just don't dig a hole anywhere... From what I have noticed my female likes to nest against something.. I have also notice that she turns her inside leg ever so slightly as she looks for her nesting place..(I think it's to feel the earth before digging).. And she always lays in an area with full sun..
> 
> I'm in Fla now... But when i was up north I tried numerous times to get my female to nest inside...no go....actually just before I left Boston ( Dec27th)she was doing her leg thing in her pen.. Not two hrs after arriving here (Dec29th)she dug her nest and laid a clutch..
> 
> ...



Hector, with this box she should have plenty of room and 4 corner walls that she seems to prefer to lay up against. When you were up north, what time of year was her clutches or from what month to what month. Are there any signs of the female wanting to lay eggs before she digs a nest? I got a feeling and it's only pure instinct or a hunch, from owning sullys and other animals for so long, that she's up to something. Guess we'll find out, gonna build the box tomorrow and if this crazy weather breaks, I'll give her a shot outside somehow. Thanx!


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## Mick.Ire (Jan 16, 2013)

Hey good stuff if you can build it. If it doesn't work it's never any harm having an area boxed off to separate any torts that may become a little sick or unwell in the future. Because she's new to breeding she might go for it. That's what our leopard did, they had no choice because it was far too cold for them to go outside. They had never dug a nest outside so didn't realise what they were missing. Yours is probably the same because she only ever dropped eggs indoors. 
We used topsoil and horticultural sand mix 60/40 in that order and it worked a treat but your mix sounds good. Keep the first few inches lightly moist so when she does feel for it she'll be happy, then once they start digging it's like a trance, there's no stopping them, if you can get it 3 ft deep it would be great, better safe than sorry. One of our leopards the biggest actually doesn't go down that deep at all, maybe 7-8inches while the smaller one digs great deep nests. I really hope it works out for you. With the leopards they never stop eating completely but their appetites reduce alright coming up to nesting, they are too concerned in getting out of the shed and away from the others (we house our leopards and sulcatas together). We let them do this for a 2-3 days and then stuck them in the box, it took the first one about 2 days to start and ye second one about 4 hours. 
That's great your sulcata is drinking, a lot don't openly drink like ours and rely on moisture from the food, one less thing for you to worry about. 
Looking forward to pictures of your group. 
Cheers Mick.


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## Fungooli (Jan 16, 2013)

Mick.Ireland said:


> Hey good stuff if you can build it. If it doesn't work it's never any harm having an area boxed off to separate any torts that may become a little sick or unwell in the future. Because she's new to breeding she might go for it. That's what our leopard did, they had no choice because it was far too cold for them to go outside. They had never dug a nest outside so didn't realise what they were missing. Yours is probably the same because she only ever dropped eggs indoors.
> We used topsoil and horticultural sand mix 60/40 in that order and it worked a treat but your mix sounds good. Keep the first few inches lightly moist so when she does feel for it she'll be happy, then once they start digging it's like a trance, there's no stopping them, if you can get it 3 ft deep it would be great, better safe than sorry. One of our leopards the biggest actually doesn't go down that deep at all, maybe 7-8inches while the smaller one digs great deep nests. I really hope it works out for you. With the leopards they never stop eating completely but their appetites reduce alright coming up to nesting, they are too concerned in getting out of the shed and away from the others (we house our leopards and sulcatas together). We let them do this for a 2-3 days and then stuck them in the box, it took the first one about 2 days to start and ye second one about 4 hours.
> That's great your sulcata is drinking, a lot don't openly drink like ours and rely on moisture from the food, one less thing for you to worry about.
> Looking forward to pictures of your group.
> Cheers Mick.


Hey Mick......"They had never dug a nest outside so didn't realise what they were missing. Yours is probably the same because she only ever dropped eggs indoors." Heheh, that's what I was trying to say/ask in an earlier post since she only laid them on a solid floor and car before. I already have 2 big bags/boxes of peat moss outside and the rest will come from the building supply or Home Depot as it's a mess, weather wise, outside and bags of new fill will be easier to get down there. I'll get 100 lbs of sand to mix in too, although our New Jersey dirt is pretty sandy and I know some will be coming from my yard. To be honest with you, that was the first time I ever saw any of my sullys drink from a water bowl or anywhere for that matter except from maybe a soaking. I figured they just got their water from the veggies as every time they eat, they pee. I put the big guy near it and had some romaine in there to entice him, but nothing. Brought my smaller female down to see how they would react together and no water either. This could be part of that instinct thing I was talking about like maybe it's a, what's that word you used, gravid, thing and she knows something we don't. I'll keep you posted.


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## Tony the tank (Jan 16, 2013)

Fung.. My female nested at her whim.. In October to early November this year she dug 3 nest and deposited eggs in all three..i havent noticed any set pattern.. Shes laid in the middle of summer and the middle of winter in past yrs...

My female is a big girl..I knew she needed to lay because she would pace her pen constantly banging on the corners and shaking the walls..I would also notice her turn her inside leg moving the hay almost like she was feeling for give under feet..( she was kept on hay on a solid floor..


If the weather breaks let her go outside.. My female has been out digging in 37* F... But she is a big girl and took her a while to cool down.. But as soon as she starts digging cover her with a big box or something to cover the wind and set up a heat lamp or heating pad.. Once she turns and starts digging with her back legs she doesn't move much


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## Fungooli (Jan 16, 2013)

Tony the tank said:


> Fung.. My female nested at her whim.. In October to early November this year she dug 3 nest and deposited eggs in all three..i havent noticed any set pattern.. Shes laid in the middle of summer and the middle of winter in past yrs...
> 
> My female is a big girl..I knew she needed to lay because she would pace her pen constantly banging on the corners and shaking the walls..I would also notice her turn her inside leg moving the hay almost like she was feeling for give under feet..( she was kept on hay on a solid floor..
> 
> ...




Gotcha Hec, on the outside set up, chance of snow tomorrow, so building the box for now and the future. I can't pin point it, but somethings up with her, I can almost feel it. Thanx Buddy!


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## Tony the tank (Jan 16, 2013)

Trust your gut... Good luck and stay safe


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## Fungooli (Jan 17, 2013)

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Fungooli said:


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Just trying the pic upload thing. Ok there's Jax the male, told 45lb and Jazz, told 35lb and the female this thread is for. Had the cart loaded with lumber I needed today so went out back to see what they had for fill. Nothing except fancy $7 dirt. Went to another place $2 something a small bag, would of cost me $500. Checked a couple nurserys, closed for the season, no top soil, etc, left the lumber at the Depot and went home. 
Felt bad and started building up at least the corner for a slope, but once I got started, had enough wood laying around to slap together a box 3 1/2x 3 1/2x 3 1/2. Had 8 bags of 3yr old mulch and two big cartons of peat moss out in the yard. Put in the mulch first, pretty much decomposed but dyed black, decent. Put in the moss and I'm up to about 22-23" so far.
I'll work on getting at least a foot or so of soil and sand in there tomorrow and go from there. Not what I planned but not too bad either. Still down there working on it, I'll send some pics of the pen and my other guys a little later.


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## Fungooli (Jan 17, 2013)

Ok, if it worked, first shot is whole pen with penthouse or right
2nd pic is penthouse. Put her in just to show size comparison, moss is still cold from outside, waiting for dirt, she seems to like it. #3 and 4 are my big guy Jimmy last in at 102lb with some Canadian goose that I rescued from the mouth of a dog and raised for the summer and the other by his house with one of my 4 shepherds. I have one more sulcata that looks just like the female in penthouse, only younger and smaller.


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## Fungooli (Jan 18, 2013)

Well, went over to Lowes today and grabbed 12 bags of this Lite top soil at $2.50 a a bag, real nice stuff for a substrate if you want a non experts opinion. Mixed in 50lb of sand, compacted and soaked it down and now I'm sitting at about 30 inches as my slapped together project is only maybe 8 " higher. She's in there and seems to love as she went right for the water and kale so I'm pretty sure the stress of moving was minimal. Incubator should be here any day, now all I need is some eggs. I figure, the way my stuff goes, at the very least, now that all my work is done, it'll warm up outside to 70 degrees and I can bring her outside. One thing I have been noticing over the last few days is that she always finds the darkest or shadiest spot in the pen to rest in while the big guy likes the lamps or close by. Wondering if this is some type of gravid sign.


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## Mick.Ire (Jan 18, 2013)

Hey that looks brilliant, well done for acting so fast. Some thing we've noticed with some female torts is they will climb the walls, pace the enclosure for a few days and relax for up to 3 weeks and then start again. It's usually the second phase when they lay. Not sure about her sitting in the shade being a sign of gravid, the fact she's drinking a lot and staying in ye shade makes me think it could be too warm. Might be no harm to check your temps. 
The classic sign of a gravies tortoise is they will appear to do anything to get out of where they are. Literally climb the walls. Your tortoises are beautiful by the way, all look in great shape and your set up looks top class. Fair play. 
If she lays outside she lays outside but at least you have a back up space for the future.


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## Fungooli (Jan 19, 2013)

Mick.Ireland said:


> Hey that looks brilliant, well done for acting so fast. Some thing we've noticed with some female torts is they will climb the walls, pace the enclosure for a few days and relax for up to 3 weeks and then start again. It's usually the second phase when they lay. Not sure about her sitting in the shade being a sign of gravid, the fact she's drinking a lot and staying in ye shade makes me think it could be too warm. Might be no harm to check your temps.
> The classic sign of a gravies tortoise is they will appear to do anything to get out of where they are. Literally climb the walls. Your tortoises are beautiful by the way, all look in great shape and your set up looks top class. Fair play.
> If she lays outside she lays outside but at least you have a back up space for the future.


Thanx Mick, she's definately climbing the walls, Temp is fine, if anything a bit on the chill but ok. Would of liked to have made it bigger as originally planned but just didn't work out way. May have to relocate to a warm island somewhere heheh. By the way, caught the male drinking out of the water dish too. Was thinking it may be too dry down there but I actually built the pen around a dehumidifier (just a location thing) that was going non stop down there til I turned it off.


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