fs.A. NAT., VOL. XV. 
Nov. 30th, 1933. 
By Kenneth II. Harrington. 
27. 
Repeated observation lead me to believe that the depth of 
the burrow depends on the size of the tortoise to a certain extent: 
smaller specimens having only short legs naturally dig a shallow 
burrow, while a large one, with longer legs, digs a deeper one. 
The average completed burrow measures approximately 2^ inches 
to 3 inches in diameter with a depth of about 5 inches; it takes 
about half an hour to prepare, but much depends, of course, on 
the burrowing medium. 
After the burrow is completed to its satisfaction, the tortoise 
commences to deposit the eggs, which are white and elongated 
in form; Chelodina longicollis will lay anything up to twenty 
eggs in the one nesting burrow. After oviposition it pushes the 
sand back until the eggs are completely covered and the burrow 
obliterated, taking care to level the surface, so that one would find 
it very difficult to discern_ any traces of the sand having been 
disturbed. 
The eggs are left for the heat of the sun to hatch, the mother 
taking no part in the tending of the young. 
Here my observation end for the present, because, unfort¬ 
unately, the nesting burrows were discovered by rats which ate 
all the eggs. 
The late Mr. Edgar R. Waite, in his hand-book on '‘The 
Reptiles and Amphibians of South Australia,” states that the 
eggs are laid in .November or December and the young appear in 
February or March. The account of the making of the nesting 
burrow as quoted by Mr. Waite does not agree with mv obser¬ 
vations. 
In spite of the disappointments of last year, I am keenly 
awaiting their breeding activities this summer and intend to 
take more precautions against marauders. 
