Save the Negev Desert Tortoise!

The Negev Tortoise project continues steadly.

The two babies born last year are getting bigger and remain behind-the-scenes in the Small Animal House.

The good news is that already we have two eggs in the incubators and we look forward to seeing them successful hatch in the near future.

In the wild, most egg laying activity would take place in spring or early summer, to allow the hatchlings to grow a little before their first hibernation.  There is, however, no set breeding season for the majority of tortoises in captivity and egg production can take place at any time of year.

It is common for tortoises to lay more than 1 clutch of eggs in the year, and the number of eggs laid does vary with different species of tortoise, but as a general guide, the average clutch size will be between 2 and 12 eggs. 

The incubation period of tortoise eggs is quite long in most species, the average incubation period are between 100 and 160 days.

We will keep you updated on their progress.

Stay healthy!

Rachael and the Tortoise Team!

The two new baby tortoises that hatched this past spring are growing up fast.

They are still hanging out behind the scenes in the Small Animal House.

One of the interesting things that the keepers have learned this past year is about the impact of the tortoises' diet on the appearance of their carapaces.

In the picture below, you will see the difference between the tortoise raised in the Zoo (with the raised bumps on its carapace) and the tortoise that was rescued and had her carapace repaired, who grew uo outside the Zoo (her carapace is smoother.)

The keepers found that the tortoises who had been raised on lettuce had these bumpy shells and have since changed the tortoises diets from lettuce (which is not native to the Negev Desert, of course) to a local plant to the region: mallow

The mallow is an annual plant that reaches a height of some 50 cm (20 inches). It blossoms from February to June, and has pink, five-petaled leaves, approximately 2.5 cm (about one inch) in diameter. Mallow, whose modern Hebrew name, halamit, is almost identical to the biblical halamot (mentioned in Job 6:6 for example). The Arabic name for the plant is hubeza, which it is commonly. Israel is home to six species of the plant.