I would say what you do need no matter what the age, is lots of space and not to keep them penned, to avoid stress. Incubation is characteristically long in most species, the average incubation period are between 100 and 160 days. Egg-laying typically occurs at night, after which the mother tortoise covers her clutch with sand, soil, and organic material. No, they continue to live a full lifespan. The eggs are large and are similar in size and shape to a ping pong ball. Egg-laying typically occurs at night, after which the mother tortoise covers her clutch with sand, soil, and organic material. Red-eared sliders live in rivers and lay their eggs close to where they live and eat. This will help the tortoise to expel her eggs. What age do tortoises lay eggs? If you know the answer to this question, please register to join our limited beta program and start the conversation right now! She lays from 12 to 40 eggs in the chamber before covering the nest. Egg Laying. Egg Laying and Development. When the female will lay eggs depends on several factors like time of mating, temperature, length of day etc. Credit Mike Jones. They certainly cant dig in it. Females carrying eggs may also reduce their food intake, and sometimes may stop feeding altogether just prior to laying. In captivity where tortoises have continual access to good food they often grow much quicker than their wild tortoise counterparts. Another way to tell is to ask your veterinary surgeon to X-ray a tortoise you suspect may be pregnant - although this is really only justified in ''problem'' cases. Sexual maturity has more to do with size than age. Predators kill most of the eggs or hatchlings. In that case, the eggs are infertile. The eggs are left unattended, and depending on the species, take from 60 to 120 days to incubate. Incubation is characteristically long in most species, the average incubation period are between 100 and 160 days. Which might be the reason for just dropping the egg. In most case, after hibernation and breeding the egg laying time will come. An infertile tortoise, would be one that could not produce living offspring even if a male tortoise mated with it. By comparison, Testudo hermanni hermanni (the western Hermann's tortoise) typically only lays 3 eggs per clutch. As Bruce has said, you need soil for her to lay eggs properly, and aspen is not ideal for tortoises anyway. One single shot of oxytocin is usually enough to make the tortoise lay within a couple of hours or bringing her home. Hundreds of years ago there were no predators for the galapagos tortoise. What Is Maximum Age Of Breeding Hermann Tortoise ? Tortoise Group and federal and state wildlife agencies strongly discourage allowing captive desert tortoises to mate. On the other hand, sea turtles average three to six clutches a season but have been known to lay up to 12 clutches in a year! Enough depth from … Some species only lay a single egg. In cases where the tortoise has been kept on a calcium deficient diet, a five day course of calcium injections are recommended prior to the oxytocin shot. Breeding Russian Tortoises. For these reasons breeding shouldn’t be encouraged in older tortoises. We need you to answer this question! Although your tortoise if only five is a little imature to be laying eggs. The common snapping turtle has only been recorded laying one clutch per year. Tortoises Eggs by: Shelly A female tortoise can, indeed, lay eggs without ever being introduced to a male. So you need a nesting box, sloped and filled with soil. Box turtles live entirely on land and lay their eggs in moist soil in forests or marshlands.