REPRODUCTION AND HATCHLINGS

Figure 37. Rounded rake roof tiles at
the dry end of the enclosure make snug
burrows for hatchlings.

child’s bedroom, suffering from soft-shell disease and dying slowly. You can prevent this with your hatchlings.

The law. Since August 1989, wild tortoises and tortoises hatched in captivity are equally protected under the Endangered Species Act. The proper outdoor environ­ment is a major part of responsible care. Please see that an outdoor habitat is ready before you give away your tortoises.

Figure 39. Tortoises sometimes eat soil,
possibly for the minerals.

If you are not able to see that habitats are ready in advance, call us at (702) 739-8043 and give us the names of prospective adopters. We will handle those adoptions. If you have no prospective homes for your hatchlings, the Tortoise Pick-up Service, (702) 593-9027, will take them if you are willing to practice the only practical form of birth control we have for tortoises, separating the sexes permanently.

Birth control. A pet female tortoise may produce more than 16 hatchlings a year. Most people with breeding tortoises eventually run out of room or good homes where hatchlings will receive responsible care. We are asking people with reproducing females to use the same kind of responsible pet ownership that they have learned with cats and dogs.

Spaying and neutering has reduced the number of unwanted dogs and cats that must be euthanized. However, healthy tortoises are not euthanized and it is im­practical to spay or neuter them. The cost of maintaining hundreds of tortoises each year at the Desert Tortoise Holding Facil­ity is considerable, and we believe that it is the pet owners who should be responsible for controlling hatchling numbers. Unless tortoises are part of an authorized release program, they are not to be released in the desert. Therefore, think seriously if you have a mating pair. You can expect as many as 20 hatchlings each year.

The Tortoise Pick-up Service will take your unwanted hatchlings if you have done your part to stop reproduction. If your yard is large enough, you could create separate habitats for the male and female. Or, you may keep one adult and turn over the remaining tortoises.

Because females store sperm, expect a female to lay fertile eggs for several years after being separated from a male. The staff at the Pick-up Service will take your unwanted hatchlings if you have separated breeding adults permanently.

Tortoises are naturally loners. Keeping just one tortoise is a good solution.

Figure 40. Single pet tortoises appear
content to live without other tortoises.