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[Yorkshire Girl]

Where to start...according to the vet we have two girls but I wasn't sure has there skirts are different and I caught one mating the other a year or two ago. Well on Monday the girlie started acting strangely using her back legs to dig - usually use front - well this evening hubby noticed an egg on the surface of their outdoor run. I googled tortoise eggs, looked at images and low and behold we have ourselves a tortoise egg & there could be more buried beneath. Found lots of facts out that they can store sperm and can take upto 4 years to lay her eggs & she can lay only 1!! We are going to carefully bring egg/s (there could be more under the soil) in and keep them warm while we decide what to do - scary

[jaypo]

Awwwww little baby tortoises?haha your vet as good as some gp's then?😆

[Taz2]

Is there any way the vet can scan the eggs to see if they are fertile? Years ago one of mine laid an egg but it never hatched despite keeping it at the right temperature. My dad said then that tortoises often lay eggs even without a mate. I was so disappointed.

Taz x

[Yorkshire Girl]

Jaypo eh yes but to give him his due it's very hard to sex a tortoise!!
Taz we moved the one egg we saw, I then started very carefully digging around and found another 4. They are now inside in sand under the heat lamp with water to create some humidity as can't do much else at mo. Just can't face not trying to hatch them, at least if anything happens we have tried.

[Taz2]

I just don't want you to spend four months like we did only to find out that captive tortoises often lay eggs without mating. We had two females. They often 'humped' each other   

Taz x

[CLKD]

Why not let Mummy hatch them  they've been doing it for millions of years .........

You would need 2 each with some salad ;-).   I babysat 3 many years ago, the size of 50p pieces.  Registered etc..  They didn't do much except eat a little bit of green, I had to bath them every morning so that they could drink. 

Bet there aren't any cards 'Congratualtions on your new tortoise arrivals' 

[Yorkshire Girl]

Taz the thing is they have definitely been mating, only problem is getting them to vets as they can't be juggled around.
It's funny how different reptiles/birds lay eggs and hatch them tortoises & turtles never see their young just lay their eggs and leave them. Yet birds sit on nest & bring up their young!
No CKLD 

[CLKD]

 . people hatch poultry too ......... incubators that have to be kept at a specific humidity because apparently quail in particular are not good parents  .

'Photos?  Names ?

[jillydoll]

How they doing Yorkie?
Any news on the tortoises..?

[jillydoll]

My OH had a tortoise when he was just a small lad.
They let it roam around the living room, everyday, every night.
It slept in his dads old slipper.  .
Then one day, they came in and couldn't wake it up.
They thought it was dead, which, in fairness, it could've been, but I said, it could've been hibernating. Which they didn't know they did.
They buried it. .....so, so sad. We'll never know. 

[CLKD]

A neighbour had a tortoise years ago - it roamed and as Autumn arrived it would dig itself into the ground and appear the next March/April ...... it was 34 the last I heard  and there is one in our Estate that wanders - it went 50 yards recently but we don't know how long that took it ...... it crossed the road too 

[Yorkshire Girl]

It crossed the road and survived - blimey.
Tortoises aren't as slow as people think, ours can really go when they want to!!

[CLKD]

How R the eggs?

[Yorkshire Girl]

We think they are unfertilised, but waiting the 60-90 days to be sure.

[CLKD]

Fried or boiled ?  . Is Mummy tortoise bothered?