Should i be concerned??
 

Hi peeps :)

I dont know whether to be concerned or not......

My female, Tilly (8inch SCL) laid for me once back in January 2012 for the first time and it ended badly as her eggs smashed on the way out....anyway....

She since hasnt laid anymore eggs whatsoever :-/

Should i be concerned at all?? I hear about everyone elses females laying eggs twice/three times a season/year each year. She has been seen mating with my male since she laid last year but still nothing. She has the occasional bout of stroppiness and charges around the table but it lasts for a few hours and this happens only very occasionally. She hasnt gained a rapid amount of weight over a short period of time so not really thought about her being gravid

She eats normally and doesnt go off her food, she doesnt mount the others.....


What im basically asking is, why hasnt she laid and is it possible she is gravid? as im slightly worried.....have been for ages really but just thought it might be a waiting game :/ Do i get her x-rayed or is there no cause for alarm?

She has a nesting area which ive just topped up with warm water so its nice and moist/warm.

Sorry for the essay, and thanks in advance for any helpful replies :)

Scott :D

How much does she weigh?

There is no rapid weight gain with a gravid tortoise, as everything to produce the eggs is already in her. A large weight loss would mean she was gravid and laid eggs.

Danny

Hi Dan :)

Shes 1570 as of this afternoon :) Shes gone from 1500 to 1570 in a matter of about 6 months....checked the entire table this morn and nothing as far as eggs concerned....some buried poos yes but no eggs lol

Scott

If you measured exactly (a mm makes a difference) and she is 203mm, she's a bit underweight at 1570g and should be 1633g. If she was 70g less 6 months ago I can see why she hasn't laid any eggs as she doesn't feel she has enough reserves to lay :mrgreen: out that kind of investment. I'd get her up to 1650g and see what happens. :D

Danny

There's a handy Jackson ratio calculator online here http://www.tortoise-protection-group...k/site/171.asp will tell you if she's a good weight or not. Maybe worth getting her X-rays for peace of mind, just shop around for cheap X-ray

Well i measured her at 20cm the last time i measured her lol, but shes a riggler so it may be a bit out haha! Will try and get an accurate measure now! Just went to check on her and shes flipping everything over (Bowls and other torts -_-).

Shes always been a funny one as regards to weight but shes slowly putting it on now :) She was 1410 when i got her at 19.9cm....Will be back with her measurement soon, wont be long Dan! :)

Thanks Em :) will measure her now (Accurately hopefully lol) and yeah im thinking of doing so now....just to ease my mind :)

Just done my best to keep them still and heads in....

Tilly (tort is question) - 1570 grams - 205mm
Torty - 690 grams - 155mm
Shelly - 360 grams - 114mm

Dan your thoughts on Tilly and the other two would be amazing....should i xray her?

And also what foods can i give her (and the others if they need it) to boost weight?!

Thankyou

Em...checked the ratio

Tilly - 0.19625 (Normal weight)
Torty - 0.1852908596556007 (Nearly normal weight)
Shelly - 0.24298974583272584 (Possibly too heavy)

This sound right???

Torty could do with a few more grams on him but to be honest I wouldn't get hung up on it as mine fluctuate a fair bit. Shelley looks like she's a good weight could she have eggs??
And tilly looks fine weight by the calculator. Always room for few more grams on a 'normal weight' to fatten them.up for winter but since the weathers been lousy they prob won't feel like gorging too much at the min!