Leave p. pardalis eggs in dirt or dig up

ben awes

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So my female p. pardalis leopard tortoise laid her 5th clutch of the season and likely her last. It seems the ideal way to hatch baby p. pardalis is to leave the eggs in the ground. I live in Minnesota so all nest digging, incubating and hatching occur indoors. I always dig the eggs up the morning after they are laid, but i am considering keeping them in the ground and waiting until spring to dig them up. Of course, this means leaving them in a tub that i sunk into the floor of her plywood enclosure. The dirt will get no rain, no sun, no anything else. I will be covered with a plywood cover. The temp of the dirt looks to be around 65 degrees. Here is a pic from under the enclosure showing eggs up against the side of the tub.

Thoughts on this idea - anyone have experience leaving eggs in the "indoor ground"?

11a9vfs.jpg
 

Greg T

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I think the one item that concerns me with indoor nests would be the lack of moisture. Outside nests will get rain, incubators maintain humidity through water trays. Leaving dirt inside will just dry it out which may not be good for the shells.

I'm certainly no expert, but I woudl be afraid of them drying out. You should try to spray the dirt or pour water on the dirt occasionally to replicate a normal outside ground nest.
 

Tom

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My outdoor-left-in-the-ground-eggs get no rain either. My females pee and poop when digging their nest and laying eggs, and my in ground nests stay damp enough this way.

I think if you are going to cover the nest area with plywood, it will hold in the moisture left by the female for a few months.

I also don't know if 65 is cool enough. Ground temp here is 49-50 degrees F, 18" down in winter.

You are in uncharted territory my friend. You are a pioneer, and you may be on the verge of discovering something new. Or it might not work and your eggs don't develop...

From all I know, and the frame of reference I have to draw from, I would bet this will work. Keep us posted.
 

bouaboua

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You all are Tort professors. I learn a lot. Thank you all so much.
 

Az tortoise compound

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As per the temps of 65 degrees, that works just fine for the cooling period. Some of the pardalis pardalis incubated and hatched here we took down to 65-66 degrees for 2 -3 months. Also the humidity levels are more important during the "cooking" and "hatching period" rather then the diapause phase. We are still experimenting with the perfect artificial hatch recipe.

 
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