Raina Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 today one of my adult hermanns tortoise laid 3 eggs. I wont be incubating them as i dont want to be over run with hatchlings lol. i have decided to freeze them as they can hatch even at low temperatures. 4 months ago the babies were in eggs of the same size, as you can see in that time they have grown quite a bit Thanks for looking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superkitty Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 Wow! Fascinating stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seagazer Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Great photos! How many tortoises do you have? My friend got her 3 tortoises from her friend who runs a tortoise rescue. They were all hatched from eggs. When my friend walks her dog she always takes a bag to collect dandelions that she sees on verges etc. We have one tortoise, Jeffrey. He's supposed to be my YS's but I seem to be the main carer I have made him sign a contract that he will take the tortoise with him when he leaves home though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raina Posted January 18, 2013 Author Share Posted January 18, 2013 Thank you. I have just the 8 for now, 7 Hermanns and a leopard tortoise. Once they have an outdoor set up (heated sheds, maybe a greenhouse and a large run) I will hopefully be having a Sulcata tortoise (third largest species in the world) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angeluk69 Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Oh wow! I've got a 3yr old spur-thighed tortoise, which we got when he was a year old. I would have loved to have got one from a baby, but we were looking when there weren't any hatchlings available. What fabulous pictures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 I would love a Tortoise - always had one when I was a child,& I just adore them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raina Posted January 18, 2013 Author Share Posted January 18, 2013 They're great animals, very worrying when you find them on their backs. Spur thighs are great, Sulcata are also known as African spur thighed I've also had horsfields in the past too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Can you still incubate the eggs after freezing them?! Or is that the point, you didn't want to hatch so you froze them? I've wanted to hatch some for a couple years since getting Hughie, I think after I've finished Uni and have moved back home, I may actually look into it and do some more reading. They're so interesting! Always amazes me how independent they are and that they start eating so soon after hatching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raina Posted January 18, 2013 Author Share Posted January 18, 2013 They're no longer viable after freezing. I have to make sure my girls weights are perfect and being over or under weight can cause them to become egg bound, pandora will only lay if the soil is atleast 10 inches deep and is 32°c Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Here's me thinking they're awesome and can be hatched after freezing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raina Posted January 18, 2013 Author Share Posted January 18, 2013 Lmao!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluekarin Posted January 19, 2013 Share Posted January 19, 2013 They are amazing photos. I freeze our Giant African Land snail eggs when they lay as there are hundreds of them! We then either gave them to a friend of my daughters for their fish, or just got rid of them ( making sure they had been frozen for a good while so they didn't hatch in the bin!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raina Posted January 19, 2013 Author Share Posted January 19, 2013 They are now in the compost bin, the shells had cracked during freezing. The bin is producing heat so they could of possibly hatched if I hadn't of froze them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheeky Chooky Posted January 19, 2013 Share Posted January 19, 2013 This thread is fascinating Even though we ended up getting another Border Terrier instead of our planned Hermanns Hatchling I'd still love one...my Nan had a Hermanns Tortoise when I was younger and she promised that I could have him when I got married and moved into my own home When that time came, she'd already given him away Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alih Posted February 25, 2013 Share Posted February 25, 2013 Fantastic pictures! We are thinking of having a tortoise....I am mid-research phase at the moment and would love to know the experiences of anyone on here who has them. Do they get lonely and would it be better to have 2? How complicated a set-up do we need in terms of heat/ light/ seasonal accommodation. When I was younger folk just used to keep them wondering about their gardens and they seemed relatively low-maintenance but I have read up and it seems that is not the case. We have a veg patch we have given up on as our garden in north facing and I wonder whether that could be adapted as a large space for them to live? Any tips welcome (and sorry to hijack the thread in my enthusiasm!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princess Leia Posted February 25, 2013 Share Posted February 25, 2013 We've had our Enzo for 4 years - he's a rescue spur-thighed and was fully grown so no idea how old he is. He's quite happy on his own, has full reign over the garden, which is all secure with solid walls. If you are wanting to keep one fenced in, it needs to be solid - if they can see through, they'll try to go through and they are very strong. They can also climb better that you'd imagine and dig as well. He just has a small "conservatory" with a perspex roof to keep warm in on colder days, but most of the time at night he digs in under the hedge - just where the sun will come up next morning (clever). On colder nights spring/autumn we bring him in the house so he can re-arrange the oak furniture (seriously). He hibernates in a double walled box in the garage, with an old anglepoise lamp focused on the box when it gets really cold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alih Posted February 25, 2013 Share Posted February 25, 2013 He is beautiful! Thank you for the info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
