Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi - I have a 3.4 group of redfoots. Two of my females just started laying last year and their 9 years old now (see picture below of them laying at the same time in 2006).
Their eggs are about 60% the size of my other two Redfoot females. Could these two be Cherryhead females and would that explain the smaller eggs?
The diets of all four females are identical yet the egg size differs.
They both laid again last week at different times, one laying 7 eggs one laying 8 eggs. The eggs again this season are small. Last years eggs from these two did not hatch and wrote it off to the fact that it was their first season laying and they were small eggs. But I'm puzzled again this year small eggs any ideas? Thanks Richard

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Richard -amazoa-

"Changes in behavior occur when the pain of staying the same outweighs the pain of change."

Hi Richard,
I have not had the pleasure of my yellow foots breading yet - I just hope I have a male and female.

To answer your question: The seize of Yellow and Red foot eggs are dictated by the size of the mother - ie older/larger the Tortoise becomes the larger the eggs - the larger the babies and better change of survival.

Good luck with this season.

Me I still have about 5 or 6 years to wait - But I have been looking at incubators.

Renard

One of my adult females is smaller then these two girls and her eggs are much larger (40% larger).

To compare the egg size to common objects my females that lay the small eggs lay eggs a bit smaller then a ping pong ball. My two females that lay larger eggs lay eggs a bit larger then a golf ball.
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Richard -amazoa-

"Changes in behavior occur when the pain of staying the same outweighs the pain of change."

I have always read larger Red Foots lay larger eggs - I have also read it is not age, but size of Red Foot instead of age for sexual maturity.

From experience with chickens - Young chickens lay smaller eggs.

I am sure there are other people on this site who will be able to shed more light on Red foots and size of eggs.

please guys need your opinion on what is going on with these girls. I need some experienced redfoot breeders opinions on this thread. Thanks Richard
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Richard -amazoa-

"Changes in behavior occur when the pain of staying the same outweighs the pain of change."

Those do look like the Cherryheads that I have. I haven't had the pleasure of breeding them... yet. I did get one nesting this year but no eggs.

A friend purchased a pair from me last when I got them about 3 years ago. They were about 6 inches when she got them. They laid 5 eggs last year and two hatched... blew me away because I have the same type that are over 10 inches SCL... no eggs.

Her's laid 2 eggs this year... just this month.

My experience with RFs is limited but with leopards I've had egss 1 inch in diameter hatch (third generation). The normal for these in my care is about 2 inches in diameter. I found some large amimals will lay large quantities of small eggs and some will lay small quantities of large eggs.

All I can say is place them in the incubator and be patient... at least you got eggs. I wondering what's going on with mine.
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Ed @ Tortoise Keepers
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care

Got the eggs in the incubator with a 4 month wait ahead. Appreciaqte your response. Have a great year with your collection.....Richard
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Richard -amazoa-

"Changes in behavior occur when the pain of staying the same outweighs the pain of change."

My pleasure. You're welcome.

>>Got the eggs in the incubator with a 4 month wait ahead. Appreciaqte your response. Have a great year with your collection.....Richard
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>>Richard -amazoa-
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>>"Changes in behavior occur when the pain of staying the same outweighs the pain of change."
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Ed @ Tortoise Keepers
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care

Rick,Sometimes its just the pain,that makes you want to change,or is it just the pain in our brain.Eather way pain is bad,tortoise eggs are the cure.* Dob Bylon

EJ,Thats a very good observation about the small clutch but big eggs and the other way around.This would be very interesting imformation to know.I wounder if someone has studied/published this on a large scale.I have noted eggs clutches that were smaller in numbers than normal for a long term produced weighed a little more than her past eggs from biger clutch size.I have also noted that a skipped year of egg production was made up in three years by having larger size cluches of eggs,In other words over the long run it averages out.I started keeping egg weight and numbers from the begining,and it seems that there is a lot of mathematics in a tortoise's stratgy for survival.What say you Dr.Z Any Herpetmathematicalogest out there? Vic

Spell check= long term producer -clutch ,maybe others I hate when this happens! Dyslexia Vic

When you say that the eggs are a certain percent larger or smaller than other eggs you have had before what does that mean?
How large were the other eggs? Can you measure them in centimeters? Sorry, but I haven't played ping pong since I was a little kid!
These two females do not appear to be cherryheads (= eastern Brazil redfoots) to me.
Also, adult female 'cherryheads' lay eggs as large, if not larger than the 'normal'(= northern)redfoots.
One of my female cherryheads laid a clutch of five eggs last week and they measured as follows:
5.7 X 4.5 cm
5.2 X 4.6 cm
5.2 X 4.6 cm
5.2 X 4.45 cm
5.0 X 4.5 cm
The female is right at 30 cm (12 inches).
I have seen fertile redfoot eggs as small as 3.5 cm but they naturally produced smallish hatchlings.

Ok - By the way I was the guy in Daytona that pointed Jeff Ronne (the Boaphile) in your direction. I also live pretty close to Vic Morgan a friend of yours.

Here are some of the measurements....My largest Redfoot girl is 10.5 in. straight plastron length and she laid 7 eggs ( in mid Sept) with the average being 4.9 X 4.6cm. A smaller Female 8 inches (straight plastron) then the two that lays the small eggs laid 5 eggs in early August with the average size being 4.6 X 4.3cm.

My ping pong ball size eggs come from two females that measure aliitle over 8 in. straight plastron length and their eggs laid within the last two weeks are averaging 3.6 X 3.4cm. and appear so much smaller next to my other females eggs. My largest female (Picture in post) I bought from Kevin and Charlotte of Ectothermics (they always vend in Daytona). That pair Mr. May is amazing every 35 to 40 days she lays 6 to 7 months straight starting in August. Well so much for my story and thanks for your responses...Richard Rooker "amazoa"

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Richard -amazoa-

"Changes in behavior occur when the pain of staying the same outweighs the pain of change."

Richard,
Well, you have a very pretty northern type redfoot female in that photo. She could be of Suriname, Guyana or even Venezuelan origin.
The egg sizes in your post are right on the money for most redfoots. Good sized eggs.
As expected, the smaller females produced smaller eggs but that doesn't mean they can't be fertile. Incubate them as you would any others and hope for the best.
Meanwhile, keep the smaller females away from adult males for a couple of years and try and put some size on them. But they will probably produce eggs anyway.
Jeff Ronne?! Egads, he's a nutjob!
An old friend actually and a boa genius.