horsfield tortoise breeding
 

Hi I am just wandering how old are horsfield tortoises before they breed and are they like hens will they lay infertile eggs from time to time.

how long is a peice of string ? , it deppend's on how fertile the 2 adult animals are and size , in my experiance they all lay infertile egg's from time to time .

Will they do this without a male present.

Females are usually 5 or so inches long when they start to lay. My male has a SCL of 14cm and has done the job in the past. I did find I got infertile eggs when my pair had just started breeding. I've now acquired a couple more females so will be interested to see what they lay.

Helen x

I've found that females need to be between 5 3/4 inches and 6 inches SCL (depending on subspecies) before they will lay. Males need to be close or at 5 inches before they can get the job done properly. :D No, females won't usually lay eggs like chickens (no male present). They can though lay infertile eggs if the male isn't getting the job done.

Danny

Thanks for that just something I was wandering about.:smile: