Owner's shock as ‘male' tortoise lays eggs
A tortoise thought to be a male for 41 years has laid four eggs.
Jill Mancino, 84, was left in shock after a trip to the veterinarian revealed that her pet, named Speedy, was actually a female.
Mrs Mancino and her husband, from Undy in Monmouthshire, never questioned Speedy's gender and had always assumed it was a boy because it would 'chase us around the garden and headbutt our shoes'.
The couple believed this was the tortoise exhibiting male tendencies in order to attract a female.
However, after Speedy began digging holes in the garden and stopped eating, a trip to the vet left Mrs Mancino stunned as it was revealed that Speedy was a female. An X-ray also confirmed there were four eggs inside her shell.
Mrs Mancino said she had joked to her husband that Speedy may be 'egg bound', but said she had been left in 'total shock' after the revelation.
Speedy, living true to her name regardless of her gender, had laid two eggs by the time she had returned home from the vet, and then another two when let out into the garden. The eggs were then placed in a large flower pot to protect them.
Mrs Mancino said she believes Speedy may have mated with a friend's male tortoise while they were on holiday last summer.
However, tortoises can lay eggs without them being fertilised, and the vet suggested the male may have 'stimulated her hormones' to lay eggs.
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