egg bound leo?

[Noodles1210]

my female leopard tortoise is showing signs of nesting. her indoor substarte isnt deep enough right now, and we are currently upgrading. i take her out everyday but she hasnt tried to dig outside. she has laid eggs before, all infertile because she is only 2 years old. but normally she passes them throught very easily. she is still eating but it is not as much as she normally does. i’m taking jer to the vet soon for nail and beak trimmings, but it would be nice to know if i do have an egg bound tortoise. thanks for all the help.

 

[Noodles1210]

Update:
she is eating normally, but is still digging holes, i try and take her put so she can dig outside, but she hasnt.

 

[Noodles1210]

Update:

she layed her eggs!! she layed four wggs in her outside enclosure yesterday.
i’m going out to dig them up and see if they are fertile. i don’t think they because of the small amount of eggs, but it’s worth a shot.

 

[Yvonne G]

She's very young to be laying eggs. What are her size dimentions? And is she with a male? At that age laying eggs is not in her best interest, healthwise. Make sure she is getting a lot of help in th e calcium department. Can we please see a picture of the tortoise?

Also, at only two years, her nails and beak really haven't had time to become overgrown. I'm suspecting this tortoise is older than you thought.

 

[Noodles1210]

well, i just dug them up, and there are ten eggs..
she used to be with a male, and they would mate, but they are too young to reproduce. i do beleive my tortoise was egg bound for a while because before this happened she would lay an egg everyone once and a while. i googled it and it said that sometime they lay “practice eggs” i’m not sure if that’s true or not. but she hasnt layed one of those in about 5-7 months

 

[Noodles1210]

they were born in february of 2015. that’s what the breeder told us. so i guess they are almost 4

 

[Yvonne G]

The tortoise in your avatar is older than that. I don't know what reason a breeder would have to give you the wrong hatch date, but that tortoise looks much older than 3 or 4 years.

Also, female leopard tortoises have long nails. They don't need trimming. Long nails help them dig nests, and get traction on the type of ground they've evolved to be walking on.

Incubate those eggs. If she's been with a male within the last few years, there's every chance in the world they're fertile.

 

[Yvonne G]

@Tom @Markw84 @Neal

 

[Noodles1210]

this is one of the eggs, it doesnt look fertile to me, what do u think?

 

[Yvonne G]

You can't tell until about two weeks (of incubation temperatures).

 

[Noodles1210]

this is a picture of the female who layed the eggs.

 

[Noodles1210]

i dont even know how to properly incubate the eggs, any advice on how to do that.

 

[Yvonne G]

She looks full grown, or maybe 12 to 15 years of age.

You'll need an incubator.

Tortoise eggs should not be rotated once you've started the incubation process. They have to always stay in the same orientation, so put an 'x' on the top side and always keep it laying with the 'x' up. Place the eggs in moistened vermiculite and set the incubator for 85F to 89F degrees. It sometimes takes about 3 or 4 maybe even 5 months for them to hatch.

They're about $50. Tractor Supply sells them:

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...mrJNYhqoam1OIMQp_i_qIxkLMSXdvV-caAhfuEALw_wcB

 

[Noodles1210]

i don’t know if i’ll be able to do this. with all the recent rain in pa my basement flooded and i’m barely paying for that. my current tortoises really need an enclosure upgrade and now that’s been delayed. i’m not sure i’ll be able to handle this.

 

[Noodles1210]

can i use a tupperware container with a heat lamp over it? will soil work in place of the vermiculite. i’m really sorry i just don’t know how i can afford this.

 

[Noodles1210]

i’m hoping this will work as an incubator. there is some paper towels along with sand. i also placed a dish of water to keep it humid. it’s sitting under a 75 w heat lamp

 

[Tom]

i dont even know how to properly incubate the eggs, any advice on how to do that.

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-incubate-eggs-and-start-hatchlings.124266/

Your tortoise looks like it is of mixed genetics. You'll get more fertility if you cool the eggs to 60-65F for about 6 weeks before incubation. If that doesn't matter to you, go ahead and start incubation right away. I prefer to leave the eggs in the ground for a few weeks. I'm leaving my current SA leopard eggs in the ground over winter.

 

[Tom]

View attachment 249279i’m hoping this will work as an incubator. there is some paper towels along with sand. i also placed a dish of water to keep it humid. it’s sitting under a 75 w heat lamp

That will not likely work. They need more stability than they'd get with the fluctuation in room temp, and they need fairly precise temps. You can buy an Hovabator chicken egg incubator for about $65. Vermiculite will cost another $10. Shoe box is $1 or $2. The first baby you sell will pay for all of it.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0145O6C0S/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

 

[Noodles1210]

That will not likely work. They need more stability than they'd get with the fluctuation in room temp, and they need fairly precise temps. You can buy an Hovabator chicken egg incubator for about $65. Vermiculite will cost another $10. Shoe box is $1 or $2. The first baby you sell will pay for all of it.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0145O6C0S/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

i really cant afford that right now. i’m still not even sure if the eggs are fertile or not. @YvonneG told me to wait a week or two in the incubator and then candle the eggs. i just added a thermometer to the container. what temps should the eggs be at?

 

[Tom]

i really cant afford that right now. i’m still not even sure if the eggs are fertile or not. @YvonneG told me to wait a week or two in the incubator and then candle the eggs. i just added a thermometer to the container. what temps should the eggs be at?

86-88 is in the middle of the range. Over 90 can cause them to do or have birth defects. Under 84 might cause them to not develop. I have my incubators set to 87-88.

Do an internet search and you will find lots of ways to make a cheap, easy incubator. But sitting out in the open under a heat lamp is not the way to go.