I didnt expect that!

[Catwoman63]

Originally Posted by alley cat

Ha ha they are not exactly mine made me laugh though, I know what you mean!
Are yours likely to lay this year?

Well unless they carry sperm for 2 years its unlikely as I have 6 females lol, I think Xena is frisky though she's very boisterous scraping to get out, climbing over everything I bring her in the house and she climbs over everything and loves to climb in the DVD shelf and knock all the DVDs all over the place, always searching for something, but I love her for it x

[kazzabb]

Well I thought my Mildred was a female. I got her from someone who had kept both George and Mildred (their names have been changed to protect their identities) together on a tort table for 6 years, how they didn't kill each other I have no idea. Turns out Mildred is a male with a deformed tail, which didn't stop him doing the biz with one of my females Lucy. Lucy laid eggs, two of which hatched. So Catwoman, are you sure one'v your girlies isn't misleading you?
I think torts all over must be randy, yesterday I could hear my females banging each other in the greenhouse, it was like being in a cheap hotel on a Saturday night with noisy 'neighbours'!
Karen

[Catwoman63]

Originally Posted by kazzabb

I think torts all over must be randy, yesterday I could hear my females banging each other in the greenhouse, it was like being in a cheap hotel on a Saturday night with noisy 'neighbours'!
Karen

ha ha this made me laugh, well 4 of mine are definately females, the questionable 2 have been sexed as female but are under 3 yrs old (2.1/2 yrs and 1.1/2 yrs) and i do have a slight niggle that Ari and Tyler (the 2 under 3yrs old) may turn out to be boys! But they are too young at the moment obviously to mate with anyone lol. Ari has been practicing with Tyler though!

I would be happy if they were males as i would then have 4 females to 2 males, but it would be at least another 5 years before they would be able to father any hatchlings lol x

[Catwoman63]

The following information i extracted from an article on the Tortoise Protection Group on Gravid Females and sperm storage:

Female tortoises have two ovaries in the coelimic cavity – eggs are released by the ovaries and travel down the paired oviducts. The tortoise has the ability to store sperm in the oviducts, and fertile eggs can be produced up to three years after a single successful mating. Sperm storage means that only an occasional mating is required to maintain the population in the wild, and there is also evidence that this results in mixed paternity within single clutches, reducing the chances of inbreeding in small populations.

Fertilisation can be as a direct result of a recent mating, or internal fertilisation by stored sperm which is triggered by factors such as temperature or increased availability of food. The eggs are fertilised in the oviducts, where the yolk and shell are also produced.
--------------------------

As the information is not tortoise species specific does this mean that all female tortoise species are capable of storing sperm for up to 3 years, also it states that it can take just one successful mating for fertilisation up to 3 years later!

[egyptiandan64]

The study Bev was with Hermanns tortoises. They did prove that clutches in one season can have more than one male as the father of a clutch. They than said they were getting mixed clutch paternity the next breeding season with only mating with one male. Though I've found that female wont lay eggs the next year unless exposed to at least 1 male or an aggressive female. I had a female lay a clutch of eggs in February of one year (after being with an aggressive female) and all the eggs were infertile. She had laid fertile eggs in July of the previous year. So I would have thought if she was carrying viable sperm that it would have been used to fertilize at least some of the eggs (which didn't happen).

Danny

[Catwoman63]

Originally Posted by egyptiandan64

The study Bev was with Hermanns tortoises. They did prove that clutches in one season can have more than one male as the father of a clutch. They than said they were getting mixed clutch paternity the next breeding season with only mating with one male. Though I've found that female wont lay eggs the next year unless exposed to at least 1 male or an aggressive female. I had a female lay a clutch of eggs in February of one year (after being with an aggressive female) and all the eggs were infertile. She had laid fertile eggs in July of the previous year. So I would have thought if she was carrying viable sperm that it would have been used to fertilize at least some of the eggs (which didn't happen).

Danny

Thanks Dan, No chance for my girls then, i lived in hope of them laying fertile eggs without the hassle of having to get a male ha ha x

[kazzabb]

God I'm so relieved that we don't have a baby every time we're exposed to randy males or aggressive females
karen

[Catwoman63]

Originally Posted by kazzabb

God I'm so relieved that we don't have a baby every time we're exposed to randy males or aggressive females
karen

Yeh I totally agree with you otherwise we would have loads of babies OMG the thought! X

[kazzabb]

One of my females laid 5 eggs in the greenhouse on 28th March. She's just laid again. All are in the incubator. If my husband sees them I'm in trouble. And if they hatch I'm in more trouble. I know it's only torts, and I'm not secretly having 11 kids, but still. She hasn't been with a male since I got her 18 months ago, but they do hold onto stuff don't they!
Karen

[cherylahutch]

Originally Posted by Catwoman63

Thanks Dan, No chance for my girls then, i lived in hope of them laying fertile eggs without the hassle of having to get a male ha ha x

Pity you didn't live closer I could have let elvis come for a visit