wondering about nesting

[Yvonne G]

I've been wondering this for a while now. Thought I'd put it out there to see what other Manouria keepers think about it:

As you know, the female builds a nest mound, lays the eggs in it and then guards the nest.

My two groups, Mep and Mee, are 3.3 and 3.3. In the Mee group the males always scrape debris into the "house." Practically all day long, one or another of them is scraping leaves and dirt into their house. Every night I sweep it back out (you can't have anything on the pig blankets). I've always just figured the are trying to make their sleeping arrangements more comfy.

But lately I've been wondering if they are actually building, or trying to build, a nest mound. You know....like some male birds do to attract the female.

As soon as the night temps are warm enough to disconnect the pig blankets I'm going to allow the nest building and see what happens. Trouble is, as soon as the weather gets a bit less cold, I start the sprinklers...er...ah...I mean the monsoon, which stimulates the female into nest building.

So, what do you think? I'm all wet?

 

[Benjamin]

My adult male regularly scrapes up piles of leaves and mulch. When he was younger and housed alone, he would make a pile in the corner then climb in with my redfoots. Eventually I removed the divider and let them stay together. Last week he made a large pile under the CHE, then he and a young female MEE watched as a redfoot nested in the pile.
They are the most interesting tortoise.

 

[tortoises101]

This is a very interesting thread.