# Red eared slider egg incubation dents



## mokihanagirl55 (Jun 4, 2021)

i just pulled my RES turtle eggs into incubation, on first day it dented a bit, a week later the egg is nearly half dented, does that mean eggs were not fertile? How early can you tell?


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## ZenHerper (Jun 5, 2021)

That often means there's something wrong with your humidity - the shell dents in as water evaporates from inside.

Let's see if some aquatic turtle peeps are around...

@Toddrickfl1 @Markw84 

In the meantime, tell us what temperature you are using to incubate, what medium you have the eggs resting on, and the humidity inside the incubator...


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## Markw84 (Jun 5, 2021)

Most aquatic turtle eggs are semi-soft shelled. When first laid and handled, they can dent a bit. WIth proper humidity of 90%+ the eggs will fill out nicely and should stay that way.

If an egg starts to dent in, the first check is humidity. IF too dry they will dent and the embryo will fail to develop. More commonly, a denting egg with all conditions apparently good, is an infertile egg. The infertile eggs will dent in and continue to collapse.


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## Toddrickfl1 (Jun 5, 2021)

mokihanagirl55 said:


> i just pulled my RES turtle eggs into incubation, on first day it dented a bit, a week later the egg is nearly half dented, does that mean eggs were not fertile? How early can you tell?


The eggs should of chalked within a week. When the eggs are first laid they're yellowish. After a day or two they start out with a white spot that spreads till the egg is eventually all white. If yours didn't do this then they're probably not fertile. Here's a pic of some of mine chalking. Notice the egg on the far left, it was not fertile.


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