My female tortoise is acting weird

[Potato_king]

Hello, i hope everyone is doing great.
Today as i was checking on my tortoises, I found the female digging a pit. My family said she has been digging many pits for a while now, but she doesn’t lay any eggs, she leave them empty.
This is a video for her,, in case the video is not working, I uploaded a picture.

https://usaupload.com/6aLo/FullSizeRender.mov

 

[Potato_king]

i have another male tortoise, he is very aggressive, so i separated him for her. Occasionally the female try to get to the male so i let her and l leave them alone for a while😂 . Her appetite is great, she finishes her food, she gets daily soaks. Although she is still dehydrated, ever since i got her, and her shell don’t seem to get any better.

 

[Potato_king]

she just layed an egg.
Any advice will be very much appreciated, summer is coming and my country is definitely not for tortoises. Im struggling to keep these two healthy, I don’t know what to do with the eggs

 

[Tom]

she just layed an egg.
Any advice will be very much appreciated, summer is coming and my country is definitely not for tortoises. Im struggling to keep these two healthy, I don’t know what to do with the eggs

How To Incubate Eggs And Start Hatchlings

I put my eggs in a plastic shoe box with a lid on it and put the shoe box in the incubator. You can drill a couple of very small holes around the top of the container, but not on the lid. I use vermiculite as an incubation media. I mix it in a 1 : 1 ratio with water by weight for Sulcatas and...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Lyn W]

You could just leave them in the ground and let nature take its course if you don't want to buy an incubator etc. Just keep an eye on the area when they are due to hatch, to rescue any babies that appear.
Females will lay eggs even if not fertilised by a male, but to avoid the possibility of them mating and then wondering if the eggs are fertilised or not in the future I would keep them separate at all times.

 

[Potato_king]

You could just leave them in the ground and let nature take its course if you don't want to buy an incubator etc. Just keep an eye on the area when they are due to hatch, to rescue any babies that appear.
Females will lay eggs even if not fertilised by a male, but to avoid the possibility of them mating and then wondering if the eggs are fertilised or not in the future I would keep them separate at all times.

I already considered buying an incubator but now its too late. I was surprised this morning because each time the male try to mate with the female she rejects him and she runs away. Thank you for the advice! I won’t leave them together again and i will just keep the place of the eggs hydrated and safe.

 

[Lyn W]

I already considered buying an incubator but now its too late. I was surprised this morning because each time the male try to mate with the female she rejects him and she runs away. Thank you for the advice! I won’t leave them together again and i will just keep the place of the eggs hydrated and safe.
View attachment 341991

Don't let me put you off buying an incubator if that's what you want to do.
You sounded a bit worried about how you'd cope in your first post - so it was just a suggestion to leave them if you didn't think you'd manage hatching and rearing them.

 

[Potato_king]

Don't let me put you off buying an incubator if that's what you want to do.
You sounded a bit worried about how you'd cope in your first post - so it was just a suggestion to leave them if you didn't think you'd manage hatching and rearing them

No, in fact it wasn’t my intention to make them breed. i was going to get the incubator just in case it happenes. Now its too late ,because im sure I won’t find any incubators here and i have to order one and it won’t reach anytime soon. It was mismanagement from my side, i should have never let them stay together! Thank you again!

 

[Sarah2020]

As mentioned she could have eggs without ***. My view is as not expected and as suggested that you leave it as is and let nature take over. Do not beat yourself up you have a healthy happy tortoise as this would not happen.

 

[Tom]

I already considered buying an incubator but now its too late.

Its not too late. The eggs can sit at room temp or cooler for months, and then incubate just fine once you get an incubator, set it all up, check and re-check the temps.

Keep the eggs on some damp vermiculite, or even the dirt where she laid them. Not wet. Just lightly damp. Keep them in a plastic tub of some sort with a lid on it and just a few pin holes for ventilation. Put the tub somewhere safe and out of harms way while you wait for the incubator to arrive.

 

[Potato_king]

Its not too late. The eggs can sit at room temp or cooler for months, and then incubate just fine once you get an incubator, set it all up, check and re-check the temps.

Keep the eggs on some damp vermiculite, or even the dirt where she laid them. Not wet. Just lightly damp. Keep them in a plastic tub of some sort with a lid on it and just a few pin holes for ventilation. Put the tub somewhere safe and out of harms way while you wait for the incubator to arrive.

As mentioned she could have eggs without ***. My view is as not expected and as suggested that you leave it as is and let nature take over. Do not beat yourself up you have a healthy happy tortoise as this would not happen.

I’ve made alot of stupid mistakes when it comes to taking care of my tortoises and i feel guiltily
But Thank you for your kind words, it made me feel much better

 

[Potato_king]

Its not too late. The eggs can sit at room temp or cooler for months, and then incubate just fine once you get an incubator, set it all up, check and re-check the temps.

Keep the eggs on some damp vermiculite, or even the dirt where she laid them. Not wet. Just lightly damp. Keep them in a plastic tub of some sort with a lid on it and just a few pin holes for ventilation. Put the tub somewhere safe and out of harms way while you wait for the incubator to arrive.

Thank you for your feedback! I didn’t know this before.