# SEX OF RUSSIAN EGGS



## Carol S (Mar 24, 2014)

How many days into the incubation process of Russian eggs does the sex of the egg happen? I know that the sex is determined by temperature, but do not know how many days into incubation this happens. Does anybody know?

Thanks for any information.


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## N2TORTS (Mar 24, 2014)

Not really an answer to your exact question...but maybe for some other an insight on this subject....

"In many organisms the sex of an offspring will be irreversibly determined by its sex chromosomes, or rather, a set of genes on the chromosomes, regardless of any environmental variation. This condition is known as 'genotypic sex determination'. However, in some organisms the immediate environment determines whether the offspring will become a male or a female, a condition referred to as 'environmental sex determination'. Ultimately, however, *environmental sex determination is also controlled by genes*. Genotypic Sex determination

Many animals have a pair of sex chromosomes which determines whether their offspring will be male or female. In all mammals and most insects the male gamete has either an X or a Y chromosome, half the sperms carrying the X chromosome and half the Y chromosome. The male is thus heterogametic. The female gamete has only X chromosomes, the unfertilised eggs each carrying an X chromosome. The female is thus homogametic. A male (XY) offspring is produced when a Y sperm fertilises an (X) egg and a female (XX) offspring is produced when an X sperm fertilises an (X) egg. Hence, the *male determines the sex of the offspring*

Birds, some amphibia and a few insects also have XX and XY sex chromosomes but here the sexes are reversed, the male being homogametic (XX) and the female heterogametic (XY). Hence, the female gamete determines the offspring's sex in these examples. In reptiles, sex chromosomes have been found in many snakes, several lizards and a few terrapins (Kinosternidae). Only males are heterogametic in the terrapins, only females are heterogametic in the snakes, but both are known in the lizards. Most fishes and some amphibia have chromosomes which appear undifferentiated and the development of either male or female offspring depends on small differences between a pair of like chromosomes."


More info can be found here .....http://www.britishcheloniagroup.org.uk/testudo/v2/v2n3sex


JD~:shy:


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## Carol S (Mar 25, 2014)

Thank you N2TORTS for the information!


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