Female Tortoise Reproduction

HotdogKnight

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I'm posting this here as I assume this is more a biological question than a casual one.

When you get a baby tort obviously there are the questions of whether it's m/f. I'm opting for a male but on the off chance it is female I was wondering if they were any different to care for i.e. when they grow up/become women torts.

Do they produce eggs regardless of meeting a partner? How do you deal with this? Do they behave any more different than a male tort because of reproduction traits?
 

Yvonne G

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It is my understanding that a female tortoise has as many follicles in her body at hatch as she's going to have over her life time. When mature, some females develop eggs from the folicles and dig nests to deposit them in, even though the eggs aren't fertile. Some females never do without being with a male (just like chickens).

They don't act any differently other than sometimes they go off their feed if they're full of eggs ready to be expelled.
 

dmmj

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I was hoping for some bawdy talk here. :(
Do you mean like PMS, females don't go through anything like that ( another plus for being a male tortoise, am I right guys?)
Besides laying eggs and needing more calcium while doing so, the care is the same. Did that answer the question?
 

HotdogKnight

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I think so, so they'd still produce eggs but they wouldn't be fertilised? Would you just dispose of them or are there any mental separation problems?

(I understand they're not mammals but I'm not sure how they would differ)
 

dmmj

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Tortoises have no connection to theitr eggs what so ever, they will drop them, and not look back.
 
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