NEWS FLASH: These eggs hatched and the babies emerged from the ground on August 23rd, 2000 at 11:44PM.
These eggs sat for 465 days and 10 hours in the ground before emerging on a rainy night.
Photos will be online with the other baby pictures 9/2000.   Orders are being taken now. Pricing is here.

Leopard Tortoise Egg Laying Series
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The Tortoise Egg Laying Series - Page 6

Leopard Tortoise Filling Hole Leopard Tortoise Filling Hole

     Once all of her eggs have been deposited in the hole and she has spread them around to her satisfaction she will begin to cover them up. Now she holds her foot in a much different way. She will draw a foot toward the hole along the ground with her claws pointed down. She will alternate feet while scraping dirt into the hole. As she removes her foot from the hole now she no longer keeps the sole of her foot facing up. She will continue this until the hole is filled. After that she will continue to scrape the surface of the ground until everything is smoothed out. It is quite amazing how this method will camoflage a nest. As the dirt drys out and grass covers the site there will be no sign of what is below.

Leopard Tortoise Claw Position When Filling Hole Leopard Tortoise Claw Position When Filling Hole

     This photo clearly shows the different foot position as she is filling her nest hole.

This page last updated August 28, 2000

Exotic Enterprises - Tucson, Arizona

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