Once you have determined if you have male or female tortoises, you may be concerned about breeding. Sulcatas produce a lot of eggs every year, which means you’ll have to find homes for up to 100 baby tortoises. Sulcata tortoises can breed as early as five years old and 25-40 pounds.
Male sulcata tortoises will likely reach sexual maturity before females. For the health of the female sulcata, it’s best to wait to breed her until she’s a little old, at least 10 or 15 years old.
Sulcata Breeding Season
The breeding season for sulcata tortoises starts around the beginning of January and lasts until about the end of December. On average, male will start to mate around February.
Male sulcatas may try to mate a female every time he sees her or just once in a while. It is truly varied.
When Do Female Sulcatas Lay Eggs?
The gestation period for sulcata tortoises is about 60 days post mating. Female sulcata tortoises will typically lay eggs every 5-6 weeks between January and May. Females will usually stop laying eggs when the weather warms and is hot.
Females will lay up to six clutches of 10-20 eggs at a time. Female sulcatas will lay between 50 and 100 eggs every year! You’ll definitely need a good incubator or two in order to hatch the sulcata tortoise eggs.
When sulcata tortoises breed, it can be a lot of stress on the female tortoise.
