Tales from Hermann Hall

This morning I was up against the clock as usual, getting the torts fed before I have to get to work.

I entered Hermann Hall and to my surprise ... there was Dolly in the middle of laying eggs.

Im always very cautious of disturbing a laying female as they can be easily put off and will retain eggs until the conditions are right again.. Normally I slowly reverse from the tortoise house and tip toe away.. This morning I really hadn't the time to stand on any such ceremony and quietly apologised to Dolly and proceeded to scatter weeds on the floor for the other torts who were all respectfully giving Dolly some space to get on..

Now, Dolly loves her fodder and is always one of the first up and to the trough first thing in the morning... As i spread the food about I noticed that Dolly already having laid 2 eggs was starting to cover her nest up.. As more weeds went down and the other tortoises tucked in her back legs moved faster and faster to cover her nest up..

As they munched I could see her head pointing in their direction.. I have never seen a Tortoise cover up her nest so fast in my life just to make sure that she didn't miss her breakfast..

Nice to see you have your priorities right there , Dolly !