Andy, What are you doing?

Jodie

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One of my females, Andy, is about 5 years old, and has never been bred. She just dropped 18+ eggs. I do not know if she is done. She did not dig a hole despite having a nest area 4 feet by 8 feet, that is 2 feet deep. My other females have all found it satisfactory in the past. My group is still inside for winter. She is 25 pounds, so she is more than big enough, but what is going on here? I need to get her a male! The eggs all look great. Not over calcified, or odd shapes. Weird right? Or is it just me?
 

CarolM

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One of my females, Andy, is about 5 years old, and has never been bred. She just dropped 18+ eggs. I do not know if she is done. She did not dig a hole despite having a nest area 4 feet by 8 feet, that is 2 feet deep. My other females have all found it satisfactory in the past. My group is still inside for winter. She is 25 pounds, so she is more than big enough, but what is going on here? I need to get her a male! The eggs all look great. Not over calcified, or odd shapes. Weird right? Or is it just me?
Maybe @Yvonne G or @Tom can advise.
 

Tom

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18??? Out of a five year old leopard??? WOW!

Many first time moms lay on the surface. Its pretty normal. Often they just drop eggs wile walking. Many times I see broken eggs or yolks and leathery "semi-shells" as the females mature and get ready for a life of reproduction. I call it "priming the pump". They usually start digging nests and depositing their eggs correctly after a few instances of dropping duds on the surface. Some females never do this and others do it several times before actually laying good eggs.
 

Jodie

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Ok. That is kind of what I was thinking. The sheer number of eggs is what seemed alarming. She did stop after 18, but good grief! I looked it up, and she is 5 this month, so yeah, I am shocked!
 

Ghazan

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25 lbs in 5 years, jeezus, what's your feeding routine? Indoor or outdoor living?
 

Jodie

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25 lbs in 5 years, jeezus, what's your feeding routine? Indoor or outdoor living?
Right!
She is one of a trio that I bought as hatchlings. One is still pretty small, about 5 pounds. The other is more average, about 15 pounds.
They are in for a little more than half the year, and out the rest. Outside they graze almost exclusively. In winter I feed a variety of food from the grocery, lots of endive and escarole. I hydrate Zoomed Grazing Grassland, hay pellets, and orchard grass hay for them. I feed enough each morning that there is hopefully a little left over by evening. I maintain high humidity for all of my tortoises. For adults it is just their night area, and they always have an area that will be over 80F. That is it in a nut shell. She is special. I do not think it is me. :)
 

C. Nelson

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Right!
She is one of a trio that I bought as hatchlings. One is still pretty small, about 5 pounds. The other is more average, about 15 pounds.
They are in for a little more than half the year, and out the rest. Outside they graze almost exclusively. In winter I feed a variety of food from the grocery, lots of endive and escarole. I hydrate Zoomed Grazing Grassland, hay pellets, and orchard grass hay for them. I feed enough each morning that there is hopefully a little left over by evening. I maintain high humidity for all of my tortoises. For adults it is just their night area, and they always have an area that will be over 80F. That is it in a nut shell. She is special. I do not think it is me. :)

I still have Kroger that I bought from you! He's doing great, and showed me that he was a boy.
 
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