Greek tortoise laying eggs unexpectedly

downunder

New Member
Joined
Feb 25, 2021
Messages
15
Location (City and/or State)
Morocco
Hi

I have 3 wild Greek tortoises in my garden, one large female, a medium male and a small male. 2 were already here when I moved in and the large one moved in about 3 or 4 months ago.

I have a large block around 1,500 sq metres so they generally don't bump into each other though I've caught both of the males bumping the female on the side a couple of times.

On Saturday last week I saw the female tortoise laying eggs in a sunny corner in the garden. Then she spent 3 days in the same area protecting the eggs I assume. Now she's moving around the garden but she still goes back to the place where she hid the eggs and she sleeps on top.

My question is what should I do? Do I protect the area in any way? I have a cat that lives in the garden and I live in Morocco so there're lots of stray cats and sometimes they get into the garden as well. The temperature outside gets to mid 20s during the day right now but it can be as low as 12 at night.

How long can I expect the incubation period to be? What do I need to do once the eggs hatch?

If I protect the area is it ok to leave the mother outside the protected perimeter?

Any help is greatly appreciated.
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,264
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
If you leave them outside, nature will take its course. Cats might get them, or they might not. 60-90 days is normal, but depends on the weather and the spot. With colder nights, it might take all summer. Hatching in late September or October is most likely if left in the ground. You can put a metal basket over the egg area to try to protect them, but remember to take it off mid September so the babies don't hatch and then get trapped in the sun.

If you want to incubate and head start the babies, here is how. The eggs can stay in the ground for weeks until you get the incubator set up and stabilized: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-incubate-eggs-and-start-hatchlings.124266/

And here is how to start the babies:
 

downunder

New Member
Joined
Feb 25, 2021
Messages
15
Location (City and/or State)
Morocco
Thank you so much for the advice. Hopefully everything will go well and the tortoise colony will increase ?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tom

New Posts

Top