Manouria (Burmese black tortoise)

[Yvonne G]

My biggest girl, Medea (65lbs) decided to build a nest about 2 weeks ago. First of all, here she is by herself:

This is the spot she chose for her nest. It's under a hoaky table I built and they never used this spot for a bed before:

Here is the same spot two weeks later:

And here's a shot of the nest from outside the fence:

She hasn't laid eggs yet, as she's still working on the nest. I haven't had much luck in the past, so all of you need to keep your fingers and toes crossed for me and pray to the fertile egg god!!

Yvonne

 

[Jacqui]

Like you have to ask us to prey to the Fertile Egg God? I think a few of us have him on speed dial.

 

[Itort]

What's her reaction to the cat? I imagine you are familiar with this site http://defyingdestiny.org/ Lots a luck. You know I'll be watching progress closely as will the nerd.

 

[Yvonne G]

What's her reaction to the cat? I imagine you are familiar with this site http://defyingdestiny.org/ Lots a luck. You know I'll be watching progress closely as will the nerd.

The cats pretty much stay out of the larger tortoises' way. The tortoises seem to ignore them, but I'm sure when I'm not looking they must do something aggressive or the cats wouldn't be so wary of them.

If she lays eggs in the nest, I'll continue my photo sequence. But in the past, after the nest has been built, the female has just dribbled the eggs out on top of the ground.

Yvonne

 

[jlyoncc1]

Very cool! I will keep my fingers and toes crossed!

 

[purpod]

Bestest wishes ~ sure looks like she is comfy in there!
Purpod

 

[Yvonne G]

Bestest wishes ~ sure looks like she is comfy in there!
Purpod

In that picture she's actually sweeping more hay up to the top with her front leg.

Yvonne

 

[stano40]

Best of Luck with the egg production.

This was the first Burmese black tortoise photo I've seen in captivity. That pen is awesome.

bob/stano40

 

[stells]

she is lovely
Great pics and good luck

 

[spikethebest]

i know some one who had some success with breeding burmese blacks. he had to incubate the eggs in very high humidity and peet moss. Out of 64 eggs, only 2 hatched, and are still good today, i think almost a year old. those also were the ones on the top of the egg pile inside the incubator, closest to the heating element.

his name is Kirk Weber. He was the VP of the CTTC Valley chapter last year, but still very active in the club. He also breeds sulcatas, leopards, and he has a pair of stars.

[email protected]

hope you get some helpful hints!

 

[Itort]

Yvonne, is the first time a nest was build in a sheltered area? In field studies on MEE in Indonesia, they appear to build in sheltered areas (shaded) and of leaves and branches. The egg chamber held a temp of 28 to 28.5 C (82.4 to 83.3 F) with a spike of 29 C (84.2). In other words, it looks me she may be serious. A nest building and guarding tort, so cool.

 

[Yvonne G]

I appreciate everyone's suggestions and replies. Three of my girls build nests every year during my artificial monsoon season (sprinklers), but they usually don't actually lay the eggs inside the nests. They just dribble them out all over the ground as they're walking around. This is the first time that this sheltered area has been used for a nest. Usually they drag the nesting material inside their house, which doesn't work because all 5 of the tortoises in that pen share the same house and it interferes with the nest building. So I'm actually quite hopeful about this year's nest, because she's in a spot that the other tortoises are not bothering with.

Thanks for the email contact and all the good thoughts.

Yvonne

 

[ZippyButter]

i know some one who had some success with breeding burmese blacks. he had to incubate the eggs in very high humidity and peet moss. Out of 64 eggs, only 2 hatched, and are still good today, i think almost a year old. those also were the ones on the top of the egg pile inside the incubator, closest to the heating element.

his name is Kirk Weber. He was the VP of the CTTC Valley chapter last year, but still very active in the club. He also breeds sulcatas, leopards, and he has a pair of stars.

[email protected]

hope you get some helpful hints!

Cory,
I've seen his name in the recycler, advertsing for sale of his hatchlings, I believed the sulcatas, and some other species.

Minh

 

[Yvonne G]

Well, there's good news and bad news. The good news is Medea deposited 40 eggs inside her nest mound!! The bad news is I shouldn't have used orchard grass hay as the nest-building material. It never occurred to me that the hay would heat up as it decomposed. I figured because it was already dried (hay) and not fresh green grass, it would be ok...NOT!!

Medea left the nest today and so this evening I got my hay rake and started forking out the hay. She had used 2 bales of hay, and it compressed down to fit inside the shelter that she chose for her site. As I scraped I noticed steam rising up from the pile, so I put my hand down on the hay. It was HOT!!! and moldy and stinky! Eventually I uncovered 40 eggs down towards the bottom of the pile. Some of them are badly dented because of the extreme heat, but some of them look pretty good. They had banded and I'm hoping I caught some of them in time before they cooked.

First picture is the nest as I started scraping out the hay. Second picture is the eggs before I gathered them up. Third picture is 40 eggs in a bowl before cleaning them. Fourth picture is the clean eggs and the last picture are the three that were beyond redemption.

 

[Jacqui]

Yvoone sorry about the eggs that have already been lost, but just think how many chances you still have with them. Wow 40 eggs! And still more females to lay right?

I wouldn't have thought about the hay getting hot in there either. So any idea as to what you might use next time or do differently?

Also is quite an eye opener to hear she used two bales on the nest.

Learning experiences are usually not nice, but often are a necessary part of gaining knowledge. Your loss and pain will hopefully not only help you in the future have more successful (and less nerve wracking) times, but will pave the road for those coming after you who try their hands at what I am learning is a very fascinating tort species.

 

[Yvonne G]

And still more females to lay right?
So any idea as to what you might use next time or do differently?

I have three female Mep, but one of them is still only about 30lbs, so not quite big enough. The other one is big enough, but still young enough to not be experienced in nest building/egg laying. For the past three or four years she hasn't even tried to build a nest, but has dribbled eggs out on top of the ground (not yet this year, tho')

Last year I opened and dumped bags of orchid bark behind her as she scraped the ground. It was pretty expensive, but it was a nice nest material. Next year I'll see if I can find some sort of hard wood mulch at a home improvement store...something that isn't toxic or "pungent" and if all else fails, I'll just buy more orchid bark!

Yvonne

 

[Itort]

Do you access to any hardwoods such as willow, cottonwood, maple, ect? Perhaps giving them leaves and slash from these wood make a cooler nest. I feel for you and wish you luck in this attempt in an arid climate. From what I've read the success with keepers of these guys is tough in SW. I'm still working out how to approach this project in the Midwest with 6 to 8 months outside and rest in. By the way was she guarding them. Oh and that is good clutch too. I think she is very serious.

 

[purpod]

I would not have thought about the heat from decomp either; glad you were able to save some.
Blessings to all of your possibilities!

Purpod

 

[Jentortmom]

Congrats on the eggs, I will keep you and your eggs on the list of mine for prayers. What temp are you incubating them at?

 

[Yvonne G]

Congrats on the eggs, I will keep you and your eggs on the list of mine for prayers. What temp are you incubating them at?

86 degrees

Y