by Bob Elliot
Here are some photos of my Mediterranean Spur-thighed tortoise (Minnie) laying eggs.
In the summer of 1995, approximately 600 of these unfortunate creatures were illegally imported from Morocco into the UK under horrendous conditions.
Fortunately, they were impounded by UK customs officers who set about finding homes for them.
Many of them were found homes in zoological establishments and the rest were offered to chelonia organisations and resposible individuals.
I was fortunate enough to be offered a male (Dennis) and female (Minnie) which I received in October 1995.
Dennis has always been a lively little chap but Minnie, at first, refused to eat for about 3 weeks. However, once I had stomach fed her for about a week, she started eating of her own accord and now has a great appetite.
On April 8 1997, I was doing some work in the garden when I noticed that Minnie was digging a hole with her back legs and so I immediately got out the camera and started taking some snaps. She laid four eggs which I immediately put into the incubator.
Will they hatch? I don't know. They may be infertile.
If they do hatch, I will be "over the moon" and will post the photos on these pages.
But for now, here are the photos.
