HELPPP!!!! My Sulcata tortoise laid one egg during her soak!!!!

sulcatag

New Member
Joined
May 16, 2021
Messages
4
Location (City and/or State)
Vancouver
Hey everyone!!!! My Sulcata tortoise laid 1 egg during her morning soak.
WHAT SHOULD I DO?! PLEASE HELP?!

I adopted a 3 year old Sulcata 5 years ago, I was told its a female. (Mia)
I also adopted another Sulcata 2 years ago, was also told its a female. (age unclear) (Lia-the Sulcata that laid an egg)

So, this whole time, I thought they were both females. But yesterday, my younger Sulcata, Lia , laid one egg during her morning soak.
Before i adopted them, I was told they've never been around other tortoise.

So, Lia has been acting weird for the past month, she wasn't eating much and all.
But last week she seemed to be better, and started eating lots, would actually eat way more than usual.
Yesterday I was giving her, her normal morning soak and suddenly I saw an egg.
Please Help as I can't find much on Sulcatas only laying 1 egg.

She's acting fine, doing her usual routines, eating a lot more than usual.
Should I be worried?

Also her egg looks like a pancake tortoise egg.

Thank you!!
 

Chefdenoel10

Well-Known Member
Tortoise Club
5 Year Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2018
Messages
3,162
Location (City and/or State)
New Jersey
Hey everyone!!!! My Sulcata tortoise laid 1 egg during her morning soak.
WHAT SHOULD I DO?! PLEASE HELP?!

I adopted a 3 year old Sulcata 5 years ago, I was told its a female. (Mia)
I also adopted another Sulcata 2 years ago, was also told its a female. (age unclear) (Lia-the Sulcata that laid an egg)

So, this whole time, I thought they were both females. But yesterday, my younger Sulcata, Lia , laid one egg during her morning soak.
Before i adopted them, I was told they've never been around other tortoise.

So, Lia has been acting weird for the past month, she wasn't eating much and all.
But last week she seemed to be better, and started eating lots, would actually eat way more than usual.
Yesterday I was giving her, her normal morning soak and suddenly I saw an egg.
Please Help as I can't find much on Sulcatas only laying 1 egg.

She's acting fine, doing her usual routines, eating a lot more than usual.
Should I be worried?

Also her egg looks like a pancake tortoise egg.

Thank you!!

Are you sure it wasn’t a small bladder stone?
Any pics we could see if it’s an egg?
Mine (23yrs old) just had her first clutch of eggs. Never before has happened and there is NO boys for miles!
Some female Sulcata can lay eggs (like chickens). The eggs are not fertile but boy the yolks are impressive! They are a lot stronger structures than a chickens yolk..
Anyway back to YOUR situation....
Keep her warm
Let her eat as much as she wants
Make her a place where she can dig a hole
Or make a bed of hay or make her a
“Laying spot” she will feel comfortable to
lay all of them.
Give her time...
And ...
Soak
Soak
Soak!!!
If nothing happens within two weeks
I would say go to an exotic vet an get an
X-ray to see if she has more.
Then you can go from there...
Nothing else you can do...
This is all speaking from MY own experience..
The WONDERFUL people on this forum were the ones whom helped me out. So listen to THEIR advice (if you don’t like mine)..
Good luck!
I will be thinking of you and hoping for daily updates!!
????❤️

And I will call on the pros for you :

@YvonneG
@maggie3fan
@Tom
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,264
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
Hey everyone!!!! My Sulcata tortoise laid 1 egg during her morning soak.
WHAT SHOULD I DO?! PLEASE HELP?!

I adopted a 3 year old Sulcata 5 years ago, I was told its a female. (Mia)
I also adopted another Sulcata 2 years ago, was also told its a female. (age unclear) (Lia-the Sulcata that laid an egg)

So, this whole time, I thought they were both females. But yesterday, my younger Sulcata, Lia , laid one egg during her morning soak.
Before i adopted them, I was told they've never been around other tortoise.

So, Lia has been acting weird for the past month, she wasn't eating much and all.
But last week she seemed to be better, and started eating lots, would actually eat way more than usual.
Yesterday I was giving her, her normal morning soak and suddenly I saw an egg.
Please Help as I can't find much on Sulcatas only laying 1 egg.

She's acting fine, doing her usual routines, eating a lot more than usual.
Should I be worried?

Also her egg looks like a pancake tortoise egg.

Thank you!!
Do the two tortoises live together? Share an enclosure?

Can we see pics of the plastrons showing anal scutes and tails?
 

Maggie3fan

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jun 30, 2018
Messages
8,046
Location (City and/or State)
PacificNorthWest
Are you sure it wasn’t a small bladder stone?
Any pics we could see if it’s an egg?
Mine (23yrs old) just had her first clutch of eggs. Never before has happened and there is NO boys for miles!
Some female Sulcata can lay eggs (like chickens). The eggs are not fertile but boy the yolks are impressive! They are a lot stronger structures than a chickens yolk..
Anyway back to YOUR situation....
Keep her warm
Let her eat as much as she wants
Make her a place where she can dig a hole
Or make a bed of hay or make her a
“Laying spot” she will feel comfortable to
lay all of them.
Give her time...
And ...
Soak
Soak
Soak!!!
If nothing happens within two weeks
I would say go to an exotic vet an get an
X-ray to see if she has more.
Then you can go from there...
Nothing else you can do...
This is all speaking from MY own experience..
The WONDERFUL people on this forum were the ones whom helped me out. So listen to THEIR advice (if you don’t like mine)..
Good luck!
I will be thinking of you and hoping for daily updates!!
????❤️

And I will call on the pros for you :

@YvonneG
@maggie3fan
@Tom
I appreciate you calling on me...but YOU gave better advice about the egg than I could give...good job!!!
 

sulcatag

New Member
Joined
May 16, 2021
Messages
4
Location (City and/or State)
Vancouver
Are you sure it wasn’t a small bladder stone?
Any pics we could see if it’s an egg?
Mine (23yrs old) just had her first clutch of eggs. Never before has happened and there is NO boys for miles!
Some female Sulcata can lay eggs (like chickens). The eggs are not fertile but boy the yolks are impressive! They are a lot stronger structures than a chickens yolk..
Anyway back to YOUR situation....
Keep her warm
Let her eat as much as she wants
Make her a place where she can dig a hole
Or make a bed of hay or make her a
“Laying spot” she will feel comfortable to
lay all of them.
Give her time...
And ...
Soak
Soak
Soak!!!
If nothing happens within two weeks
I would say go to an exotic vet an get an
X-ray to see if she has more.
Then you can go from there...
Nothing else you can do...
This is all speaking from MY own experience..
The WONDERFUL people on this forum were the ones whom helped me out. So listen to THEIR advice (if you don’t like mine)..
Good luck!
I will be thinking of you and hoping for daily updates!!
????❤️

And I will call on the pros for you :

@YvonneG
@maggie3fan
@Tom
Thank you!! I really appreciate the help!!!!
 

Chefdenoel10

Well-Known Member
Tortoise Club
5 Year Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2018
Messages
3,162
Location (City and/or State)
New Jersey
I appreciate you calling on me...but YOU gave better advice about the egg than I could give...good job!!!

Hey, listen!
I would not know ANY of that stuff without
YOU
Tom
And especially Yvonne!
Sooo.... YOU GUYS.... good job.?

I don’t want to steal this persons page but just want to say a ginormous thank you to all of you for giving us all such great-spot on advice! I could NEVER have done half the new things I have learned to do if it were not for this forum!!!
I am indebted to you all FOREVER!
Since my stories are so long and all over the place I decided to wait to post my
“Egg-Selent”story so I could put it in order before I wrote it.
Long story short...
Lots of vets
Meds
Spoke to you guys (and listened!)—
Warmth
Places to lay eggs
Loads of GRASS!!!!
And soaks .... oooohhhhh the soaks..
And voila!!
30 eggs!
Meanwhile after my heart attack....
My Sulcata was like....
“oh ma....such drama.” “Could you go away and come back in an hour and I’ll do it all MYSELF?” ??

Ok... and now back to this persons thread.
????

P.s. listen to everybody here!!!! ?
 

Chefdenoel10

Well-Known Member
Tortoise Club
5 Year Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2018
Messages
3,162
Location (City and/or State)
New Jersey

YEP! That’s an egg all right.
The first two came out oval like that... then the next 28 came out and looked like golf balls.
Again keep her warm and make her a spot to lay her eggs.
In my case it was 2-3 eggs A DAY! She never had them all at once.
Her first one she was walking outside and it just fell out as I watched in horror thinking it was her liver, pancreas, small intestines,heart, eye ball.... you name it.
I was shocked and scared outta my mind!
I had no idea WHY my “girl” had an egg if she never ... well.... “had been with a boy”. ?
I thought I had seen everything but after the eggs, I know now.... I will be calm with anything that comes my way from now on. And before running to a vet I will come here and politely ask “what the h*ll do I do now guys!!!!????”

Think of it like this....
There is a woman having contractions in a cab ...
The cab is stuck in traffic...
What does she do?.....
She curses out her husband and swears blind she will divorce him when this is all over and then.....
She knuckles down and let’s NATURE take its course....
No doctors
No vets needed...
They will just charge you lots of money to tell you to :

Keep her warm
Make a hay bed
Dig a hole and make it a nesting place for her
That will be $1,400.00 please....
Oh and you can just take her home now...
 

Chefdenoel10

Well-Known Member
Tortoise Club
5 Year Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2018
Messages
3,162
Location (City and/or State)
New Jersey

Attachments

  • 3657570C-FF92-411C-A33E-0306EC314C52.jpeg
    3657570C-FF92-411C-A33E-0306EC314C52.jpeg
    1.2 MB · Views: 11
  • 7071CAAF-0F7A-4AF0-9849-16568263D411.jpeg
    7071CAAF-0F7A-4AF0-9849-16568263D411.jpeg
    955.3 KB · Views: 11
  • 6812AAC2-0F8C-4140-9F7D-CBB5B4898AB9.jpeg
    6812AAC2-0F8C-4140-9F7D-CBB5B4898AB9.jpeg
    1.2 MB · Views: 9
  • B25D5F9E-8476-4A3C-BF82-CBA2F284DE2C.jpeg
    B25D5F9E-8476-4A3C-BF82-CBA2F284DE2C.jpeg
    1.4 MB · Views: 9
  • 72C8ECE7-700B-4C9E-A457-EE77DAA755DD.jpeg
    72C8ECE7-700B-4C9E-A457-EE77DAA755DD.jpeg
    1.5 MB · Views: 9
  • 12B7AA3C-3982-4ADD-9B0A-D1CD14FDF0D7.jpeg
    12B7AA3C-3982-4ADD-9B0A-D1CD14FDF0D7.jpeg
    1.1 MB · Views: 10
  • 02D23399-EEB1-4450-911B-3ADB2383B416.jpeg
    02D23399-EEB1-4450-911B-3ADB2383B416.jpeg
    1.4 MB · Views: 10

Lyn W

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2014
Messages
23,497
Location (City and/or State)
UK
If you post pics of their plastrons and tails members will see if you have 2 females or one of each then you'll know if the egg/s is/are likely to be fertilised or not.
Either way they need separating if you house them together.
 

Chefdenoel10

Well-Known Member
Tortoise Club
5 Year Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2018
Messages
3,162
Location (City and/or State)
New Jersey
Does that mean my tortoise egg is not fertile?

My tortoise was not around any boys at all.
Didn’t you say you had two girls??
If so,
2 girls = NOT fertile
1 girl + 1 boy = fertile egg. You gonna have a baby !!!! Weeee!!!! ???
 
Top