Whether you are breeding your male and female tortoise intentionally or you’re female lays unexpectedly, you need to know what to do with all the eggs. Now, if you’re not prepared to hatch and find homes for up to 20 babies, you may want to destroy the eggs. I know that sounds cruel, but it’s actually more cruel to have baby sulcatas that can’t be taken care of properly.
How Many Eggs Do Female Tortoises Lay
Female sulcata tortoises can lay 15-20 eggs per clutch.
How Often Do Sulcatas Lay Eggs
Once they have successfully mated, a pregnant female sulcata will lay her eggs in about 60 days. A female doesn’t have to mate every time she is ready to lay eggs. It only takes one time with a male sulcata to lay several clutches, but that doesn’t mean a male will try to continuously mate with a female.
Sulcatas typically lay about 6 clutches a year, which means one adult female can have 120 babies every year! A female sulcata will lay eggs about every 5-6 weeks between January-May.
How Long Do Sulcata Tortoise Eggs Take to Hatch
Once laid, it can take between 90 and 160 days before the baby sulcatas begin to hatch.
How to Incubate Tortoise Eggs
The best way to incubate sulcata tortoise eggs is to use a HovaBator 1602N, which is a chicken egg incubator.
Once the female has laid a clutch, carefully place each egg in the position it was laid in a container. It is important that you DO NOT rotate the eggs.
Once the egg hatches, keep the hatchling in the incubator on moist paper towels until the yolk sack has fully absorbed, which should take about 2-3 days. Keep the tortoise hydrated but soaking it daily.
Humidity: 80%
Temperature: 86 – 89 degrees Fahrenheit.
Incubation Medium: Vermiculite, Perlite, Hatch-Rite or Pangea Hatch Medium.
