[split] new with question

[Kirsten_Lenz]

I'm really new to Tortoise keeping. I've only had my 1st (red foot) for 2 or 3 years. She's about 6 inches long and still on the small side weight and in all other ways. I wasn't even 100% of her gender but she confirmed her sex for me by laying a single perfect egg this afternoon! Boy, was I surprised! Do young tortoises lay just singles eggs here and there as 'practise' for when they mate? I took the egg out and examined it's structure and checked to make sure all was well (it was unfertilized but I wanted to be certain before I cracked it for a better look). I actually had a really hard time cracking it, it was very calcified and thick. It took a whack with a butter knife to get it to crack.

What I wanted to know is, is it possible to mate her now and have her lay viable eggs and if not will she continue to lay an egg every now and then?

Any advice would be great.

P.S. can anyone remind me how to post photos? Oh .... photobucket, right?

Kirsten & Ellie

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Kirsten:

Its always a good idea to start a new thread when you aren't responding to someone else's thread. Since you wanted to know about YOUR tortoise, and not the Hermann's that was in the other thread, I moved your question out so more folks would realize it was a new subject.

 

[Tim/Robin]

If it were me, I would hold off until she is a little bigger before putting her with a male for breeding. Can she produce now, yes! However, you have to be very careful that she does not produce eggs that are too large for her small structure which could lead to egg binding. Give her another year with adequate husbandry and she will be better fit for successfully producing.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

If it were me, I would hold off until she is a little bigger before putting her with a male for breeding. Can she produce now, yes! However, you have to be very careful that she does not produce eggs that are too large for her small structure which could lead to egg binding. Give her another year with adequate husbandry and she will be better fit for successfully producing.

Great response. We have had tortoise lay just one egg at a time, just had it happen less than two weeks ago and she was a very seasoned female.

 

[Kirsten_Lenz]

Thanks for all the responses, and to emysemys for moving my post. I actually didn't mean to leave that in the Hermann category. It's been a long time since I've used this format of forums so I wasn't paying attention. And thanks to Tim/Robin .... I wasn't going to breed her for perhaps maybe two years or so. She needs to grow more and I want to get her shell in better shape. It's got some pyramiding in places that I want to try to resolve as soon as I can. She is a very happy & spoiled Tortle (a compromise because my family can never remember that she's a tortoise and NOT a turtle). She gets the best lettuce, veggies and exotic fruits. And nice daily warm baths.

Judging by the size of Ellie's first egg I don't think she could carry any more then two unless she grows more. Does anyone have any feeding tips to promote excellent healthy growth rate? She hasn't grown much since I bought her, so any advice is welcome. Newbies too. Share away! I'm going to try to get photos of Ellie up tonight.

Kirsten & Ellie