Tortoise egg

[Ian555]

My tort just laid an egg for the 1 st time ive had her
Dont know if she has laid before she is 6 to 8 urs old
She has only produced 1
Will there be anymore ? If so how can i help her Or is one the norm
She has only laid 1
She has not been with a male
i pressume i should throw it away
She is not a very good pooper may have been a bit egg bound
Any advice please
Regards
Ian

 

[Ian555]

She was with males bk in august when i got her

 

[Yvonne G]

Leopard tortoises dig a deep hole with their back legs, deposit 10 to 20 eggs in the hole, then cover it back up by using their back legs. Pooping out a single egg on top of the ground probably means the egg isn't fertile. First timers sometimes don't know the difference between pooping and popping out an egg.

 

[Ian555]

I thought the egg would not be fertile
I know they can randomly lay an egg
I was wondering if she is likely to lay another one
So is randomly every now and then laying just one egg normsl
Regards
Ian

 

[Greg T]

They will not normally drop an egg on the ground. As Yvonne said, they dig a hole which usually takes several hours, and deposit many eggs. I've had as few as 4 and as many as 12 with 8 on average. If your enclosure doesn't have deep enough soil, they may drop on the ground but you would still get more than one most likely.

 

[Ian555]

She has not been with a male so are you ssying she should lay a few more
Or do they sometimes randomly just lay an egg

 

[Ian555]

Just been out she has laid no more so will that be it do you think?

 

[Ian555]

Its been 1.5 days no other eggs have come fro my tort she randomly laid just one the other day
I have put exttra substrate in and have been bathing her
I am being tilold mixed things
Im justvtrying to grt to if she should lay anymore
She was with a male in the misdle of august pit has been single sunce
Regards
Ian

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Ian:

Like I said before, sometimes a first time egg layer can't tell the difference between having to defecate and having an egg.

I treat all eggs as if they would all hatch. Set it up in an incubator and hope for the best.

Make sure to keep the tortoise warm, and if there are more eggs to come out, they will, in time.

 

[domagoj]

She has not been with a male so are you ssying she should lay a few more
Or do they sometimes randomly just lay an egg

I've read somewhere that some species of tortoises(female) can save sperm for multiple years and can lay fertile eggs without males. Maybe someone could explain it to us, if it's true at all.

 

[Ian555]

Hi all theres been more eggs she randomly laid 1 then two days later 2 more then a day later another one and then today another one
She has laid 5 so far but has took six days to lay them
I have a freind with incubators si they have gone there
Is it normal to take that long to lay them i would of thought she would drop all in one go ??
She has made no attempt to bury them and is leaving them i have made mounds for her to ise but she is not botheted
Giving her lots of baths etc her temps are perfect
Generally she seems ok
Just every other day have to keep running theseceggs up me freinds house
Like i said previously she was with males bk in aug she came frim a poor background but now her house and temps are perfect with ahs heaters uv basking bulb etc
She is eating fine i think now the conditions are good this is why.she is laying hope she is not egg bound but they sre coming out
But she is not a very good deecater eggs may have been the problem
Any info greatly appreciated
Thanks all

 

[Ian555]

Yeah ive been told that
Her previous owners told me she never laid an egg they thought ahe was a boy
They have had her from very small so this is the firstbtime she has laid eggs
Ive just messaged them and adked if they ever seen they doing it
Lol
Regards
Ian

 

[Ian555]

Just got hold of the previous owner
There were 3 torts there
She just informed me they were always at and mine was the worst for it
Oh dear

 

[Ian555]

Always at it
Can not type on this phone
Soz guys

 

[Neal]

I didn't quite understand your second post, are you saying she was with some males before you got her back in August? If so, then there could be a chance that the eggs are fertile.

In my experience it is not normal for a female to lay so many eggs on top of the ground instead of digging a nest. When egg laying season starts, I will usually find one laying on the ground from a young female or one that is new to me. After that they usually start to dig nests.

It would be difficult to nail down exactly why she may be dropping the eggs on the ground instead of digging a nest. My first thought is that she is young and possibly her instincts haven't quite kicked in yet. It could be stress related as well. Do you house her with any other tortoises?

 

[Ian555]

Hi thanks for your reply
No she is just dropping the eggs with no attempt to bury them
She was with males bk in august
The previous owners just told me they were always at it she was the worst one
I can not see why she would be stresses her conditions are perfect
She is eating fine and is fine when being bathed
Its like you said her instincts may not quite be there
I am worried as she is laying one every other day and not in one go ??
She is around 6 yrs old previous keeper had her for 5 yrs and never had an egg
Cheers ian

 

[Ian555]

She is not with any torts
Cheers

 

[Ian555]

She has laid another one up to 6 now in 6 days

 

[Markw84]

@Ian555 Tortoises can be quite picky about where they choose to lay eggs. I do agree with all that has been said above, but if you do not provide a suitable nesting site, a tortoise will often either become egg-bound, to do what yours is doing.

A tortoise ready to lay knows to check the Temperature and humidity of the possible nest sites and is quite often very specific in what she is looking for. You say you have added substrate, but they need an area that is deep enough and the right moisture and temperature. Perhaps you are not providing a proper nesting site??

 

[Ian555]

Thanks mark
To be honest i didnt know shecwas pregnant
She has plenty of substrate and several mounds for her to choose from
Like i said i never knew she was preggy so would of researched this
She had 6 now hopefully not to many to go
Regards
Ian