That was an excellent X-Ray. Could she be egg bound? Our "hercules", Desert tortoise, just laid a few eggs. All desert tortoises, large and small, will urinate as a last resort when handled. Large white ovoid (upper center) is outline of a chicken egg placed on top of the tortoise and used as a standard of exposure. It is not surprising that so many people find this endearing desert denizen so appealing. Prepare Your Egg Box. The desert tortoise, ... Gopherus Agassizii: A Cultural History of Tortoises. The desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii and Gopherus morafkai) are two species of tortoise native to the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico and the Sinaloan thornscrub of northwestern Mexico. Inspections of nests with unhatched eggs continued until 1 November 1984. In contrast, tropical tortoises such as Leopard tortoises can produce on average between 6-20 eggs or more each month for up to approximately 7 months of the year. California Desert Tortoises (The Avery Family) We have 10 tortoise eggs! Most desert tortoises live in habitats typical of valley bottoms that include plant communities like creosote bush scrub, often preferring streambanks in desert washes where the soil is more suitable for construction of their burrows. Female desert tortoises may deter egg predators by guarding their eggs for some time after laying, but hatchlings and juveniles must rely heavily on camouflage and the use of shelters to keep themselves safe. Hello, It can be difficult to know when the turtle is ready to produce eggs unless a radiograph is taken. Males will mate with females when encountered during spring and autumn. A desert tortoise spends 95 percent of its life in a burrow. Unlike snakes and lizards tortoise eggs require very high humidity but no direct contact with moisture. When the tortoise is fully out of the egg you can remove it and place it in the enclosure. The Desert Tortoise is an American tortoise that lives in the deserts. Fred (yes, she is a female) laid 4 this afternoon. If you plan to go further with the hobby and breed your very own tortoises we have created this handy guide on how to best incubate your tortoise eggs. A female desert tortoise can retain sperm and lay fertile eggs for up to 15 years after mating only one time with a male. 5x the length and width of the turtle) provisioned with 6-8 inches of slightly moist soil and sand. It doesn’t need to be sheltered. When the tortoise hatches it will cut through the egg then sit inside until the fluid has absorbed. The gopher tortoise is the only tortoise naturally found east of the Mississippi River. She didn't dig a nest, just plopped them out on the lawn. However, if she is showing the behavior mentioned in the article, you can set up a nest area in the cage is space permits, or remove the turtle to a large container (i.e. I have a rescued female desert tortoise here now that I'm thinking might be egg bound too. ... For tortoises laying eggs outside, provide the same type of area. One of my female Easterns has been digging test nests all week. of four eggs in a desert tortoise. They're usually pretty smudgy-looking. Introduction Desert tortoises have been kept as pets in Arizona for many decades. The even larger Sulcata tortoise can lay between 15-30 eggs per clutch 2-5 times per year. It has been a pet for many years and was turned into the Fish and Game office in Long Beach in the 1970’s. Your eggs will take roughly 8-10 weeks to hatch so it’s a long wait for baby tortoises. Egg-Bound Turtle . Last night she dug a nest and stayed there so I assumed she was going to finally lay her eggs. Care, Husbandry and Diet of the Desert Tortoise Gopherus (Xerobates) agassizii Cooper Produced by the ASDM Tortoise Adoption Program. We left unhatched eggs in nests until 3 May 1985. Wouldn’t that be nice? By By Margaret A. Wissman, DVM, DABVP. measure egg production by free-living desert tortoises in the Eastern Mojave Desert (Fenner Valley near Goffs, California, elevation 680 m; see Turner et al., 1986 for details), and desert tortoises living on Section 8 (2.6 km2) of the Des- ert Tortoise Research Natural Area (DTNA) in Digger laid 6 (healthy) eggs yesterday. Mating occurs any time other than during hibernation. The eggs are large and are similar in size and shape to a ping pong ball. Once this is done it will slowly come out and rest on the sand. Its a total of 8 min, if you want to I took a video of Digger laying her eggs yesterday! California’s state reptile is the desert tortoise. Females store sperm and may lay fertile eggs for several years after separation from a male. I've never seen a tortoise X-Ray with that much clear detail. This morning she is still sitting in the hole - not digging - just sitting there. The largest known desert tortoise is a captive tortoise about 15 inches in length and is the property of the California Department of Fish and Game.