Bri_Armentrout
New Member
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2016
- Messages
- 5
Hi Everyone,
I have two California Desert Tortoises, 1 Male, 1 Female. We aren't exactly sure of the age of our Male, as we are the 4th owners - It was a "he comes with the house situation." When we first moved in, he was thought to be around 70... Our female we got as a hatching, around the same time with another from her clutch, but she was the only one to make it.
Fast forward 15 Years. Last year was the first year our female laid an egg ( She's about 9" ). But to our knowledge, only 1 clutch was laid, and only 1 egg was found. Unfortunately our puppy found it before we did.
This year I didn't want that to happen so I've been keeping a close eye on her. We have a very large backyard where they roam free, so sometimes we go days without seeing them. Any ways, I noticed early on in the week that she was "scratching and sniffing" multiple areas in the yard, and making test nests. Well today I go outside to check on the her - She is no where to be found... However, there is a nice shiny white egg sitting on TOP of a mound freshly dug up dirt.
15 minutes later she was back to digging at her original spot, which lasted about 10 minutes. Then without laying any eggs, covered her whole back up and walked away.
I'm so confused. Obviously I need to protect the egg, but I would much rather let it stay outside in a protected area, then going to buy an incubator...
Any advice, tips, knowledge about what happened?
Thanks!
Bri
I have two California Desert Tortoises, 1 Male, 1 Female. We aren't exactly sure of the age of our Male, as we are the 4th owners - It was a "he comes with the house situation." When we first moved in, he was thought to be around 70... Our female we got as a hatching, around the same time with another from her clutch, but she was the only one to make it.
Fast forward 15 Years. Last year was the first year our female laid an egg ( She's about 9" ). But to our knowledge, only 1 clutch was laid, and only 1 egg was found. Unfortunately our puppy found it before we did.
This year I didn't want that to happen so I've been keeping a close eye on her. We have a very large backyard where they roam free, so sometimes we go days without seeing them. Any ways, I noticed early on in the week that she was "scratching and sniffing" multiple areas in the yard, and making test nests. Well today I go outside to check on the her - She is no where to be found... However, there is a nice shiny white egg sitting on TOP of a mound freshly dug up dirt.
15 minutes later she was back to digging at her original spot, which lasted about 10 minutes. Then without laying any eggs, covered her whole back up and walked away.
I'm so confused. Obviously I need to protect the egg, but I would much rather let it stay outside in a protected area, then going to buy an incubator...
Any advice, tips, knowledge about what happened?
Thanks!
Bri