Probably a silly question

[Pussygalore]

Can i just ask how some tortoises are still laying eggs? my adult Ibera lays 3 lots through the spring/ summer and wouldn't lay anymore, they are both now into wind down. The only thing I can think of is that the torts still laying are either a different species that doesn't hibernate or kept inside in which case their natural 'time clock' for laying isn't behaving as it should. Surely in the wild nothing would lay this late in the year with winter comming up, the hatchlings in the wild would have to have enough time to put on weight etc before hibernation. Have the laying torts had every instinct removed from them by the way they are kept?

[Helen M]

Laying cycles like hibernation won't be set in stone. An animals best strategy to Reproduce would be to take advantage of good however unseasonal weather. Some tortoises who were captive bred and kept going over the winter would lay differently to a wild one. Tortoises probably could lay quite late in the year in the wild and the eggs could diapause over the winter months then start growing in the spring in time for summer.

But from a good strategy perspective it is better to reproduce as much as you can to ensure a higher number of offspring survive.

Helen xx

[Pussygalore]

thanks helen, I didn't know a egg could lay 'dormant' for that length of time and assumed (wrongly) that like other animals the eggs are laid to hatch in the best weather (food etc). I therefore assumed that torts would lay in the spring/early summer, although maybe they'd have to wait untill the ground has warmed up, and if they are winding down in the autumm they wouldn't be carrying eggs.

[egyptiandan64]

Some species do have eggs that can over winter (stop developing) and start back up again in the spring. I don't know of any Testudo though that can do that. In captivity things can be a bit off from what would happen in the wild. Longer warm periods, more food to produce more eggs and more access to males. Though some of the North African Testudo, like Egyptians and Libyan spur-thighs, actually lay in the winter as it's cooler than the summer and vegetation is more abundant at the end of the winter when the eggs would hatch. So tortoises are just adapting to the more tropical enviroment of captive conditions.

Danny

[Pussygalore]

does it do any long term harm then to have them produce/lay more eggs in a year than they would naturally do? My female lays 3 lots through the summer then winds down and hibernates as she would naturally do if I chose not to allow her to hibernate but kept her up and she produced more eggs wouldn't there be a possibility that it might harm or shorten her life? I beleive that producing eggs takes a toll on the females body I know my 'girl' eats anything and everything while carrying eggs and that the last batch are usually smaller than the first/second, if she then had to lay more they would possibly be so small that they wouldn't be viable anyway. I'm just puzzled when owners say their torts have laid in the winter etc have they been laying through the summer as well or have their seasons/laying times been changed that much that they don't know the seasons anymore.

[egyptiandan64]

I've had tortoises lay in the summer and go on to lay in the winter also, it all depends on the tortoise. No laying more eggs won't shorten a females life span as females won't expend the energy unless they are getting a constant supply of food and supplements to be able to produce the eggs. The only thing that might happen is a greater chance to have a problem with an over sized egg, broken egg inside or an infection from holding onto eggs. These things can and do happen with any female laying eggs, just that the more eggs you lay the greater the chances of a problem at some point in time.

Danny