Leopard nested tonight. Now what?

[chelonologist]

I'm caring for a friend's reptiles while he's overseas on vacation. Tonight his female leopard tortoise laid eggs in his back yard (in a nest I watched her dig and deposit her clutch in). Here's my question: do I leave the eggs to incubate in the ground or should I dig them up and incubate them indoors? I don't have an incubator, and as far as I know my friend doesn't either. Without an incubator is it still possible to incubate the eggs in s temperature-controlled room?

 

[spikethebest]

i have an incubator you can borrow...

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Michael:

Long time we haven't heard from you! What have you been up to?

If your neck of the woods is anything like mine, the red ants will eat the eggs. I would bring them in.

 

[egyptiandan]

Like Yvonne said it's a good idea to bring them in and incubate them. Set them up in a plastic container of your choice (not to big if it's going in an incubator) on a dry substrate. Dirt, sand, vermiculite, perlite or even aspen works just fine. Mark (with a pencil) the tops of the eggs with the date laid, than you'll know the top of the egg and a quick reference to when laid. You can wash them off after digging up under just warm water and dry off.
You can leave them at room temperature or place them in a room that stays between 28C and 32C. Get an incubator Set it up and let it run for 24 hours to get the temperatures stabilised. Once your temperature is set (between 28C and 32C) place the eggs (in their container) in he incubator. Also place a shallow dish of water in the incubator to provide humidity.

Danny

 

[chelonologist]

Cory I'd love to borrow your incubator and implement Dan's plan. I'll PM you my new cell #.

Yvonne thanks for missing me I've been bogged down with a full time work, full time school schedule since January. This spring was a particularly hectic field season, as my attention was divided between three research sites throughout the Mojave. I'll try to post some pics soon.

 

[Candy]

Glad to see you post again Michael we've missed you here on TFO. At first I thought that you had kept that Leopard tortoise that you were looking for a home for not to long ago. Good luck with the eggs. I'll be waiting for pictures.

 

[chelonologist]

I retrieved the eggs from the nest today - 17 in all. They're nestled in a nice mix of vermiculite/perlite, and the container is in his reptile room, which is kept at a temp of 82-85F. I'll get a thermometer for the container and monitor the temp. Dan and Yvonne, thanks for the advice!

 

[Tom]

17! Wow that's a lot for a leopard. How big is she? Have you got time to post a few pics?

BTW, Hello and nice to meet you. I just joined in January as you were stepping away. Glad you are back. I'd love to hear all about your work.

 

[Nick17]

Tom, I was just about to post the same message...that is a lot for a Leopard! I'd like to see pictures too!

 

[TortieLuver]

Wow, must be a big girl!

 

[Traveller]

Ditto I'd love to see pics of this lady.
Keep us posted on the progress and outcome
of the eggs.

 

[chelonologist]

Here's a pic of the girl digging her nest - she's about 16 inches long.

 

[egyptiandan]

Is she a S.p.pardalis Michael?

Danny

 

[chelonologist]

No clue. If I can take pictures of certain shell characters, let me know and I'll post some.

 

[Traveller]

Thanks for posting pics.
She is lovely.

 

[egyptiandan]

Sure you can take pictures of her head and her carapace from on top (not sure if I'll be able to see any of the original scute). Can you take pictures of the male too.

Danny