Concerned about digging.

[NJO]

My Sulcata is 27 years old. She has been digging for the last 2 to 3 weeks non stop. All 3 of my torts have full range of our yard. Only my female is digging.. Never this much digging or I should say excavating.
She has never laid eggs, I keep checking there are no eggs yet. Could she be egg bound? If so, how could tell? I will be calling the vet in the morning.
My male Sulcata has been mating with her over the past 3 years. My male leopard tortoise is more of a loner.

 

[Maro2Bear]

My Sulcata is 27 years old. She has been digging for the last 2 to 3 weeks non stop. All 3 of my torts have full range of our yard. Only my female is digging.. Never this much digging or I should say excavating.
She has never laid eggs, I keep checking there are no eggs yet. Could she be egg bound? If so, how could tell? I will be calling the vet in the morning.
My male Sulcata has been mating with her over the past 3 years. My male leopard tortoise is more of a loner.

Could be lots of reasons behind the sudden urge to excavating. It’s been god awful hot…..maybe it’s seeking a more stable/unchanging cooler area like a tunnel. How large of an area is your yard? Maybe it’s trying to get away from the male. Are all three torts kept in the same yard together?

 

[NJO]

Yes. All three are in the yard.
I will send pictures of my yard and where my female Sydney sleeps.
The other two have their own sleeping space. Which they dug out and return to the sam places every year.
I thought my other Sulcata (Squirt) was a female, however he actually a male.
My Leporad ( Leo) is also a male.(again I was told was a female).

Could be lots of reasons behind the sudden urge to excavating. It’s been god awful hot…..maybe it’s seeking a more stable/unchanging cooler area like a tunnel. How large of an area is your yard? Maybe it’s trying to get away from the male. Are all three torts kept in the same yard together?

..

 

[Yvonne G]

The female sometimes starts a nest by digging with her front feet, then turns around and excavates the rest of it with her back feet. Is she always digging in the same spot, or is she moving to new locations?

But I'm inclined to agree with Maro2bear, that it's hot and she's trying to dig down to cooler dirt.

 

[NJO]

The female sometimes starts a nest by digging with her front feet, then turns around and excavates the rest of it with her back feet. Is she always digging in the same spot, or is she moving to new locations?

But I'm inclined to agree with Maro2bear, that it's hot and she's trying to dig down to cooler dirt.

She is digging in different areas. She actually dug out our cable and Sprinkling system.
We are in midwest IL. Just outside of Chicago. The weather is hot not any different than some summers before. We have had in past hotter weather than this.

 

[Yvonne G]

Then she may be looking for just the right spot to make a nest.