Is this female going to lay?

[joe1597]

Hi, this female Russian tortoise was put in with my male 3 weeks ago. He's only managed to successfully mate once or twice as she's not that interested. As you can see from the pics she's almost 7 inches so she should be big enough right?
If she is going to lay, when should I expect eggs? Thanks.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

That poor female has gone through some hard times. If the tortoise is not yours, then you would do well to offer the tortoise's keeper some advice on caring for a Russian tortoise. I doubt she'll be interested in laying eggs unless she's being kept in a proper habitat. She looks to be suffering from MBD, her beak is too long, and her carapace shows signs of over-all poor care.

We have a good care sheet for Russian tortoises here on the Forum at the top of the Russian section, and I'll give you a link to a good site that has excellent advice for you:

http://russiantortoise.net/care_sheet.htm

 

[joe1597]

Hi, I only got this tortoise 3 weeks ago. I thought it didn't look too good because the shell looks a bit odd like it's not all together if you get what I mean. I've been giving her food with calcium sprinkled on, with and without D3 on different days and there is also a UVB light over the table.

 

[joe1597]

Also, I know she looks a bit dirty, I will be giving her a bath later

 

[joe1597]

If it is MBD will she never lay eggs or could she get better?

 

[Yvonne G]

You're doing a great job trying to get her back up to speed, Joe. Just keep it up. And if it is at all possible, make a safe outdoor yard for her so she can get some real sunshine. Also, being kept in a small indoor habitat sort of discourages them from reproducing. She can be a good breeder once her health is better.

 

[joe1597]

Thanks, what would you suggest to do about her beak, there's a cuttlebone in with her but I've never seen her use it or is it something I would have to take her the vet for?

 

[Yvonne G]

I clip my smaller turtles and tortoises' beaks with toe nail clippers, and the larger ones with a Dremmel. But its always a good idea to have an expert do it the first time with you watching so you can do it next time.

 

[joe1597]

Okay thanks, I might take her to the vet soon then or a pet shop, I think one near me offers this as a service. Do you think the shell will just gradually get better over time then whilst she gets more calcium and UV?
Thanks for all the help, I know I'm asking lots of questions, lol

 

[Yvonne G]

No, she'll always look similar to how she looks now. Once a shell is set it never changes. All you can do is make sure the new growth comes in healthy.

And don't worry about asking questions. That's what the Forum is all about. When you ask a question and get an answer, many other readers have learned something from your post.

 

[joe1597]

Okay I will try my best and post an update in a couple of weeks, will this affect her ability to produce eggs or should she still be able to produce them once she gets healthier,
Thanks again

 

[Yvonne G]

The 'eggs'/ovum/follicles are inside the tortoise from birth. Once she is bred and is holding semen, she tries to locate a spot for digging a nest. this is best done outside where she has many, many places to choose from. She can hold the sperm for several years. This is all a very natural function for a female tortoise. The only thing you can do to influence egg laying/nest digging is provide her with the correct spot and substrate.

 

[mikeh]

If you end up taking her to the vet don't let the vet administer any vitamin injections. Some vets are needle happy when they get their hands on a tort with rough past. Vitamin injections can have a sad ending for the animal. In your torts case any vitamin/mineral deficiency can be corrected with nutrition and supplementing, no need for injections.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

HelloJoe welcome to the TFO from AZ . You might want to try putting your torts food on a slab of slate for awhile as it eats the slate will grind down the beak . I ve done this several times to shorten the beak
Have a great tort day


Sent from my iPhone using TortForum

 

[joe1597]

Thanks for the advice guys, I will try that slate thing and I will probably only take her the vet if she doesn't make any improvements. I have a calcium/vitamin liquid thing from the vets that I got for my gecko they had MBD at one point. I will post the name and pic when I get home but would this be okay to put in her water or on her food? Thanks

 

[joe1597]

Okay it's called Zolcal and it's a medical formulation of calcium and vitamin D3