Russian turtle nesting

Question
QUESTION: hello, we have one large female and 3 males.  they live in an outdoor habitat.  i saw one of the males mating with her months ago when we first got her at Christmastime.  she has been digging nests for about a week.  I'm trying to keep the males  way from her.  she does still eat.  she keeps going from one place to the other.  definite nesting signals.  just hoping she's finding s suitable nesting place and not retaining them.  what is the general timeframe from nesting to actually laying the eggs?
thanks!

ANSWER:  Hi Kelly,

Sometimes they will dig test nests for a week or two before laying.  If your soil is very hard, having an area of softer dirt may help, but the dirt should hold together enough so that the sides of the nest don't collapse.  If she's still eating, she's not ready to lay yet.  Extreme restlessness (constant pacing) and lack of appetite are signs of fairly imminent laying.

You do have a another problem, though.  The recommended ratio of  females to males is at least two to one.  Three males living with one female is very likely to result in continual harassment and stress for the female.  Even a very large enclosure won't help much with that kind of imbalance.  I highly recommend you either obtain more females (but you would need at least five more, and enough room to house them all) or separate out two of your males.  If the enclosure is big enough, she will probably be OK on her own without an additional female but make sure there are plenty of hides and sight breaks for her.

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turtle habitat   QUESTION: thank you so much.  i think that the males are leaving her alone.  but she keeps digging and digging, but then just ate a little salad just now.  bummer.  we are soooo anxious!  i just don't want to miss it!  

i've heard about that male to female ratio.  it's just been hard to find females.  but we can certainly get one more.

i have lots of friends and family wanting a baby turtle.  it's all very exciting.   

i've attached some images of their habitat.  let me now if you think this is ok.  since these pics were taken i've built a couple of mounds and added 1/2 terracotta pots for hiding.

ANSWER: Hi Kelly,

It's a little hard for me to tell from the picture--could you tell me how big the enclosure is?  For four tortoises, and especially because you have a single female with three males, the enclosure should really be big--I'd say at least 15 x 15.  The sides look pretty good, but you might want to increase the overhang a little to prevent escapes (I'm sure you know that Russian tortoises can climb quite well).  There should be plenty of sun areas, as well as shade.  Might I ask why you have the lights?  If outdoors, there shouldn't be a need for supplemental heat, and they don't need heat at night unless it's below about 50 degrees, although they should have some kind of shelter.  In nearly all areas of the US, they need to be indoors or have an outdoor shed for the winter, unless they're hibernating.  I don't recommend hibernating unless you know what you're doing, however, or live in an area where hibernating outdoors is safe (basically only in FL or Southern CA).  


Be aware that eggs may or may not be fertile.  The only way to know for sure is to incubate them.  Some females always lay some dud eggs, while others lay duds when young and gradually lay more and more fertile eggs as they grow.  The number of eggs laid really depends on the size of the female.  A smaller female (say about 800-900g) will probably lay 2-3 eggs per clutch, while a larger female (1000-1200g) might lay 4-5 or even more.  I don't know how big your female is, but that will give you a rough guideline on what to expect.  Some females will double-clutch and even triple clutch.  If they do double-clutch, it will typically be about 4 weeks after the original clutch, and the second clutch will generally be smaller and sometimes have more duds.    

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QUESTION: hi there again.  well...she was digging and in position to lay eggs.  she dug several nests for a few weeks.  now she is back under her log.  did she just not have eggs to lay?  was it just a test for later?   what's next?

Answer
Hi Kelly,

If she left the nests she dug open, they're just test nests.  However, a covered nest is VERY hard to find.  Is it possible she did lay somewhere in the pen?  I have never found a nest unless I caught a female in the act of digging/laying.  Is she eating and active now?  Do you by any chance have a weight chart for her?  You can figure each egg weighs 20-25g, and she'd probably lay 2-3, depending on her size.  A sudden drop in weight could mean eggs were laid.  

If she appears to be lethargic and doesn't eat, and especially if she appears to have problems with her hind legs, I would bring her to a vet to be x-rayed.  If she is carrying eggs, you don't want them to stay in there indefinitely.