I found two spots this morning that were obviously dug by my 8 year old female leopard tortoise. I have no doubt about that, but I am wondering if you can tell from looking if it is a "test" hole, or an actual nest with eggs in it. I carefully dug into one only to find it blocked by two very strong roots a few inches under the surface. There is no way that she got through those roots.
I didn't have time to dig into the other spot before I went to work this morning, but I can tomorrow morning if that is what I should do. I just don't know exactly what I should do. I would almost prefer to leave a real nest alone and let the eggs try to hatch naturally in the ground. I could build a "fence" around the area so that if babies did hatch they would be confined until I found them.
My female was mounted by a 5 year old male a few times this summer, but I really don't know if he was old/big enough to impregnate her. There is a good chance that she is (or is trying to) laying infertile eggs, but I want to do whatever I need to just in case they are fertile.
Any insight/advice would be greatly appreciated!
I didn't have time to dig into the other spot before I went to work this morning, but I can tomorrow morning if that is what I should do. I just don't know exactly what I should do. I would almost prefer to leave a real nest alone and let the eggs try to hatch naturally in the ground. I could build a "fence" around the area so that if babies did hatch they would be confined until I found them.
My female was mounted by a 5 year old male a few times this summer, but I really don't know if he was old/big enough to impregnate her. There is a good chance that she is (or is trying to) laying infertile eggs, but I want to do whatever I need to just in case they are fertile.
Any insight/advice would be greatly appreciated!