Tortoise Breeding
It is not uncommon for the female tortoise soon after purchase to produce a clutch of about six or seven eggs. usually she will deposit these in a hole, which she has dug in soft ground, afterward covering them up, so that often they go undetected. However, you may see her deposit them, at perhaps 15 minute intervals, in her enclosure.
Now in her native land the heat of the sun could incubate the eggs but ina colder climate this does not happen naturally; and although the eggs may not all be fertile an effort should be made to hatch them out. If possible the eggs should be left in the position in which they were laid - a reptile’s egg should never be turned - but transferred to a box of dry soil, or sand, which should surround them to a thickness of about 5 cm(12 in). A shoe box would, for instance, be ideal in size to contain six or seven eggs. If they are then kept at a steady temperature of 27 °C - 29 °C (80 °F - 85°F) without disturbance, they should incubate in about eleven weeks. If the temperature is slightly below this suggested level the eggs may still hatch, but the incubation period will be longer.
All being well, the effort of the baby tortoise trying to free itself from its shell will raise it to the surface of the sand, hatching taking place within a couple of hours.
Housing, feeding and care of baby tortoises: For the next twelve months the baby tortoises must be kept at a temperature of approximately 21°C - 24 °C(70 °F-75 °F). Indeed, it is recommended that a heated house be built for them offering adequate space for these very active babies who love to clamber over rocks and stones just as their parents do.
There is in Surrey, England, a Mrs Pat Evans, who has met considerable success in tortoise breeding and, by pursuing a childhood hobby, emerged something of an authority on tortoise pets. Her advice is that once baby tortoises have hatched, they should be fed on exactly the same food as adult tortoises. However, the rations should be chopped into tiny portions because the babies are only about 3 cm(1 in) across when they emerge, and although they do like to tear at large pieces of green stuff, it is advisable to chop it initially and also to lace the chopped food with vitamin powders well disguised.
Additives such as Vionate and Stress (a product widely recommended for rearing puppies) are recommended, as are multivitamins, all of which should be available from pet stores. Calcium lactate tablets crushed up and mixed in with the food are essential, while some owners give their young tortoises drops of cod liver oil. However, they are very fussy and, if they smell anything like a fishy oil, are bound to avoid it studiously. At all costs, however, the young tortoises must be kept feeding or they will quickly slip into decline.