I was in the Sunshine State for a book tour and a little holiday R&R. On one of my beach walks I found a lot of sea turtle egg casings. At first I thought I stumbled into the leftovers of a beer pong party.
Tortoises in the wild will lay 4-8 eggs in a sunny location with good drainage. They usually lay their eggs in the late afternoon or early evening. Tortoises in captivity lay 6-10 eggs. Egg laying season is from May- July, the eggs need 90-120 days of warm weather to incubate and ultimately hatch. As a new tortoise owner, I still do not know if Tattie is a boy or a girl. The big reveal will come soon when we see the exotic vet. If Tattie is a female, I will need to provide the proper conditions for her to lay her eggs. If she does not have these conditions, she could become egg bound.
A clutch is a bell shaped hole a the female tortoise digs for her eggs. Once the hole is dug, she lays the eggs, rests and then uses her back legs to carefully cover the eggs with the dirt. She does not protect her clutch, the protection is the construction and location of the nest.
Now that I know about a clutch, I understand how the English language has used the term. Clutch can characterize something as excellent or effective, once again, nature, via a tortoise, has taught us to dig deep, release, rest, and move on.
