Tortoise laid an egg, need advice

[n_aisling]

Hi! I’m new to this site as I’m looking for some advice. My horsefield tortoise just laid a single egg. She used to live in the same enclosure as our other tortoise who we presumed was a male. He unfortunately passed a way a few months also, which is why we were quite shocked to find an egg appear now. We have had both tortoises for 11 years and this is the first time we’ve had an egg.
Could it be an infertile egg or might it be a fertile egg that she has laid late? I read that the gestation period for tortoises can be up to 4 year. Is there any way of telling?
Completely new to this so also unsure how to go about incubating it if it is fertile.
Thank you

 

[Yvonne G]

If the other tortoise really was male, chances are good that the egg is fertile. Try to keep it in the same orientation it was when you found it, don't turn it. Put it on moist substrate inside a little plastic tub, and keep it at a constant temperature of around 85F degrees. Depending upon what species the tortoise is, it may be two to three months before it hatches. Russian eggs hatch in 2 months, for example.

 

[n_aisling]

Great, thank you. She appears to be making another nest in her enclosure I suspect she might be laying another egg. I will do what you advised and keep an eye on them. Thanks again!

If the other tortoise really was male, chances are good that the egg is fertile. Try to keep it in the same orientation it was when you found it, don't turn it. Put it on moist substrate inside a little plastic tub, and keep it at a constant temperature of around 85F degrees. Depending upon what species the tortoise is, it may be two to three months before it hatches. Russian eggs hatch in 2 months, for example.

 

[Tom]

Great, thank you. She appears to be making another nest in her enclosure I suspect she might be laying another egg. I will do what you advised and keep an eye on them. Thanks again!

They should never be housed in pairs. That is a likely contributor to the demise of the other one.

These threads will help you:

Tortoise Breeding

Discuss breeding, mating habits, eggs, incubation and other reproduction topics

tortoiseforum.org

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org