TheLastGreen
Well-Known Member
Do leopards hatch in a specific time of year? I heard some people say that they will hatch at the end of November, when the first rain has arrived.
Also do leopards hibernate?
Also do leopards hibernate?
Leopard hatching period
- Thread starter TheLastGreen
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No they don't...they need supplemental heating during the winter...Sulcata and Leopards are hatched out in the rainy season and they spend most of their first year in a damp nest
TheLastGreen
Well-Known Member
O ok, I saw a woman on facebook saying you should wrap them in hay and place in a box for Winter! How ridiculous!
Most of the people on FB don't have a clue about tortoises.
Leopards is what I have. No they do not hibernate.
My leopards that I did hatch all hatched in November. They were laid in late summer/early fall when nights got colder.
Most seem to be laid late summer/early fall when the nights are cold. At least mine were and another member who is in TX seem to have the most eggs laid at that time. Then hatched in November. Not really our rainy season. But that rainy season thing may really only apply in their native home.
TheLastGreen
Well-Known Member
This person is apparently a tortoise guru, and has been "studying" leopards for 22 years.
Some of the things the person posts feels like a fever dream.
Hopefuly some leopards hatch in the coming month, when it rains
Some of the things the person posts feels like a fever dream.
Hopefuly some leopards hatch in the coming month, when it rains
That's scary that they think that.
Humbug & Maz
Active Member
I had to stop reading those FB threads! Honestly the crap you see on there is crazy! I just stick with this forum now and always keep learning something new about different species of torts 
TheLastGreen
Well-Known Member
Yeah I'll do the same, the problem is the person lives on a farm and has... older believes when it comes to torts, feels like something from the 70's. But you are right, this forum has byfar the best info and members anywhere!
This is a complex question. It depends on where a person lives in the world and also on what type of leopard we are talking about. The lady is correct in some circumstances.
When ground hatched here in my part of the USA, they hatch in October or November, after the heat of a long hot summer produces enough ground heat to incubate them. I just had 4 SA leopards hatch out of the ground last month. So yes, it is very seasonal in this case. The adult females lay their eggs from May to November every year, and the eggs stay in the ground over summer, fall, winter, spring, and then hatch AFTER the NEXT summer. To be clear: The eggs that just hatched at my place in October 2021, were laid in spring/summer of 2020.They are thriving and doing great now. In the southern portions of the RSA, they would hatch probably in March or April after your summer heat. I don't think monsoonal rains play much of a part for the SA leopard varieties, though it probably does for some of the clades from other parts of Africa, including the Ethiopian and Somalian giants.
There are now 11 recognized "clades" of leopard tortoises. 5 from Northern and Central Africa and 6 from various parts of South Africa. These all show distinct morphological traits that are consistent throughout the region of each clade, but they are still all considered the same species, with no subspecies recognized anymore. Some of these clades live in the mountains and in Southern areas that get cold in winter. I worked with a guy named "Spud" on a movie shoot there in the RSA in 2005. He lived in the mountains (Sorry I can't remember which ones...) and he said the wild leopard tortoises around his house would hibernate under the snow in winter. So SOME of them do brumate, but most of them don't. The SA leopards we have in this country were imported from Durban originally in 1990, so I don't think they'd be as cold tolerance as the ones I saw running around in the cold and wind with the baboons at the nature center on the Cape. My friends at @Rodriguez Chelonians also have SA leopards from the same genetic lines as mine, and they let theirs get much cooler in the winter than I do, with no ill effect. In fact, they get much better hatch rates than I do, and I suspect that might be why.
The "regular" leopard tortoises that we have in in the states are a mixture of different clades from all over the range, including the SA ones, and none of them brumate. They get sick if you let them get too consistently cold in winter here. Regular leopards can lay anytime depending on a number of factors, and their eggs can be incubated immediately. They generally take about 110 days to incubate depending on temperature and genetics.
Do leopards hatch at a specific time of year? Yes, some of them do, and no, some of them don't.
Do leopards hibernate? Yes, some of them do brumate in the wild in Africa, and no, some of them do not brumate in other parts of Africa. None of them brumate here in the USA.
I hope this helps clarify some things. Questions welcome.
TheLastGreen
Well-Known Member
Thanks Tom, it helped a lot! I think it may be excitement that I want to know when they will hatch.
So it sounds like it is much more random, to circumstances? (When it comes to temps, breeding etc) Our Autumn starts in April and Winter ends in August, so if I understand correctly, breeding and laying of eggs could have been somewhere in that time, and they will after succesful gestation hatch beginning August and onward after about 4 months?
So it sounds like it is much more random, to circumstances? (When it comes to temps, breeding etc) Our Autumn starts in April and Winter ends in August, so if I understand correctly, breeding and laying of eggs could have been somewhere in that time, and they will after succesful gestation hatch beginning August and onward after about 4 months?
Not sure if anyone is still watching this thread…but i have a few questions. I have a 6 year old female Leopard Tortoise. She is much bigger than my other 2 and somehow she was injured. When i took her to the vet for X-rays…they found a broken leg (which is healing nicely) however she also had 7 eggs. A few weeks later i took her for a 2nd X-ray…the eggs were gone. I went home and searched and found a dig site and remnants of eggs that were taken by a predator. This week she had a CT scan…which is how i know the leg is healing up. To my surprise she has 11 eggs in her now. I am curious how long she will carry them before attempting to bury them again. Because of the injury…i have her range extremely limited. Typically she has access to about 2000 sq feet of my yard. Right now she has only about 15 sq feet. the areas she has access too is suitable for laying. It’s mostly sandy soil…but i do not want to lose this batch if at all possible. Any tips would be appreciated.
Maybe @Tom or @wellington can tell how often they lay eggs. And, probably, you will need more calcium supplements than usual (e.g. every other day instead of 1-2 times a week).
It usually takes them hours to dig a hole, deposit eggs, and then cover it all back up. Mine typically don't start laying until later in the day after they've warmed up. All you can do is continually check on her. I put all of my tortoises away and lock them in their temperature controlled shelters over night. This not only protects them from cold night, it protects them from rodents, ants, and predators of all types. I frequently discover my nesting females because when I go around each evening and do a head count inside each box, I notice one is missing. I typically find the missing one finishing up a nest somewhere else in the enclosure. In colder weather, I hand a 250 CHE in wide dome over the nesting female so they have enough warmth to finish up on their own.
They can hold their eggs for months when they want to, but they typically lay a new batch every 4-6 weeks during laying season.
Another way to tell would be to weigh her every morning and every evening. If she suddenly loses 500+ grams one day, you will know.
How did she break her leg? That is pretty unusual. Also, I wouldn't think continent to a small area would be good. Once the healing process is well underway, the movement is probably good for her.
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