Radiated tortoise breeding questions

Ggk

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Hoping @zovick and @Sterant will come in, but I'd love to hear from anyone who knows the answers.

My questions:
My adult female radiated tortoise laid one egg on the sand at a time and without digging a nest,totally laid three eggs in this way within a month,it’s this situation normal?

Furthermore,diapause.After I collected the egg on the sand I put it in the incubator at 65 degrees with mosit vermiculite for a month then rise the temperature at 85 degrees,but I can’t see any development in the eggs,but it didn’t look like mildewed,just want to know if this mean the eggs are not fertile?.

Moreover,Can anyone tell me the exact way to incubate and diapause the radiated tortoise egg ?


Thanks to all in advance.

IMG_7657.jpgIMG_7461.jpg

Martyggk
 

Sterant

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HI - beautiful tortoises! Laying eggs on the surface is not normal, but I do have a female that does it once or twice a year. However, with her, it is always after nesting. She will drop 4 or 5 eggs in a nest, cover it up, then lay a single egg on the ground. It happens, but again it is not normal. Is this an older female?

I would evaluate whether or not she has an adequate place to nest. Perhaps she cannot find a place to her liking.

For diapause, I put the eggs in slightly damp vermiculite, inside a tupperware container with the top on. I leave them in there at 65 degrees F for 3 or 4 weeks. Then I incubate them at 86 degrees in a hovabator still-air incubator. Lately I have been using a SIMS style incubator where the eggs are in plastic chicken egg racks and the incubator has about 1/2" of water standing in the bottom. The eggs are not touching the water, but the humidity in the incubator is 95 to 100%. Takes 90 to 100 days.

Once I put them in the incubator, I can usually see the eggs begin to chalk within 10 days. Blood vessels start to become visible through candling a few days later.

If your eggs haven't chalked and no blood vessels are visible after 5 weeks in the incubator, you can try cooling them again for a month - then start incubation again. Keep doing this until the eggs either start to develop, or rot and burst.
 

Ggk

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HI - beautiful tortoises! Laying eggs on the surface is not normal, but I do have a female that does it once or twice a year. However, with her, it is always after nesting. She will drop 4 or 5 eggs in a nest, cover it up, then lay a single egg on the ground. It happens, but again it is not normal. Is this an older female?

I would evaluate whether or not she has an adequate place to nest. Perhaps she cannot find a place to her liking.

For diapause, I put the eggs in slightly damp vermiculite, inside a tupperware container with the top on. I leave them in there at 65 degrees F for 3 or 4 weeks. Then I incubate them at 86 degrees in a hovabator still-air incubator. Lately I have been using a SIMS style incubator where the eggs are in plastic chicken egg racks and the incubator has about 1/2" of water standing in the bottom. The eggs are not touching the water, but the humidity in the incubator is 95 to 100%. Takes 90 to 100 days.

Once I put them in the incubator, I can usually see the eggs begin to chalk within 10 days. Blood vessels start to become visible through candling a few days later.

If your eggs haven't chalked and no blood vessels are visible after 5 weeks in the incubator, you can try cooling them again for a month - then start incubation again. Keep doing this until the eggs either start to develop, or rot and burst.

@Sterant Very appreciate for your detail in reply,I will follow your way to incubate the eggs,thanks a lot !!
 

Tom

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Is this a first time mom? Has she laid successful clutches in the past, or is this the first year you are getting eggs out of her? Its fair normal to see eggs dropped on the surface for first time moms of any species.

Tortoises should never be housed on sand. Those tortoise probably already have a fair amount of sand collecting in their GI tracts, and its just a question of time until they get blocked up and you lose them.
 

Yvonne G

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Those are beautiful tortoises. It looks like your tortoise yard is outside? If possible, don't EVER feed the tortoises in an area where there's sand on the ground. Make a very large feeding place where they won't be tracking sand over to the food.
 

Sterant

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That female looks fairly old to me. Lots of carapace wear from breeding.
 

Ggk

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Is this a first time mom? Has she laid successful clutches in the past, or is this the first year you are getting eggs out of her? Its fair normal to see eggs dropped on the surface for first time moms of any species.

Tortoises should never be housed on sand. Those tortoise probably already have a fair amount of sand collecting in their GI tracts, and its just a question of time until they get blocked up and you lose them.

Thanks for kindly reminding, I am going to design a new enclosure for them.Thanks a lot!
By the way what kind of substrate do you think is better for the indoor enclosure? About the outdoor enclosure I put 10 CM sand on top of the soil,it’s there any problem?
 

Ggk

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Those are beautiful tortoises. It looks like your tortoise yard is outside? If possible, don't EVER feed the tortoises in an area where there's sand on the ground. Make a very large feeding place where they won't be tracking sand over to the food.

Thanks a lot !!
 

Ggk

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Those are beautiful tortoises. It looks like your tortoise yard is outside? If possible, don't EVER feed the tortoises in an area where there's sand on the ground. Make a very large feeding place where they won't be tracking sand over to the food.
Thanks for the remind,I am going to redesign the outdoor enclosure for my tortoise.
 

TommyTheV

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Any update on what you substrate you used?

My enclosure is 95% fresh thin blade Bermuda grass. Covered in them so my guy enjoys fresh organic greens almost anywhere. That should be their main diet as a grassland species.

5% remain is dirt/soil/sand which is the small open area to the outdoor heated home that I plan to add 2-3 bags of the medium grade Organic Orchid Bark so sand/soil is accessible if they dig.

I have a large shallow feeding tray that sits directly on the grass and I move it around daily so it doesn't leave any dead spots on the grassy area :)
 

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