# Separating Tortoise Twins



## HermanniChris

For anyone who has been following my Facebook & Instagram pages, theTurtleRoom and The Reptile Report, we recently hatched twin Western Hermann's tortoises _(Testudo hermanni hermanni) _here. They were joined at the yolk sac only and needed our intervention hatching and separating them. To sum it up, while this did present itself as a challenge, we were successful in separating them and getting them started. Below is a video I put together showing how we did this for anyone else who may experience this down the road.

I'm happy to report they are doing well and are developed nicely.


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## tortadise

Awesome Chris.


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## bouaboua

WOW! ! ! !

Cool........


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## wellington

Wow, thank you so much for sharing. I can't believe how tiny.
Couple questions if you wouldn't mind. Is there a reason you didn't use fishing line that might have cut them apart right away? Would they have bled if you would have, therefore being the reason you did not separate right away, but let it dry up like a human umbilical cord, at which point they would separate?


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## HermanniChris

Yeah pretty much. The "connection" to them was pretty raw looking at first and there was some blood so that's why we didn't just separate them with either fishing line or a sterile razor right away. We let them settle down, absorb the yolk and let the connection start to shrivel slightly before we intervened any further. Once both were tied off, they separated themselves about 2 days later. They're still in the incubator but are feisty and drinking well. They should take their first meal soon. Since eating is of secondary importance to hatchlings, we're making sure they're comfortable, warm, humid and "hidden" for now. 

Thank you guys.


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## wellington

Thank you.


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## Tidgy's Dad

Thank you. 
Very interesting and informative.


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## HermanniChris

This morning we were contacted by CNN, BBC Earth, StoryFul and some local television stations in different states. All are looking to run/air the story of these twins. I'll keep everyone posted as to when this all happens.


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## Yvonne G

Our own celebrity! Way to go, Chris. Thanks for posting this for us too.


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## Lyn W

A fantastic example of your dedication to your torts.
Brilliant!


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## HermanniChris

The story is now up on Discovery.com

http://www.discovery.com/dscovrd/wildlife/teeny-tortoise-twins-hatch-from-same-egg/


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## BeeBee*BeeLeaves

I saw the story about your little twins on thedodo dot com just now.
Very, very, cool, cool! Yay, Chris! Yay, twin babies!
My head has exploded from all that cuteness!


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## The caretaker

Glad they were ok. Brilliant to watch. I didn't know you could have twins


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## allegraf

Very cool! First hermanns twins I've heard of!


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## Pokeymeg

So cool!! Glad everything worked out. You're famous!


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## kirsty Johnston

How lovely!!


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## HermanniChris

In light of the "Separating Tortoise Twins" YouTube video recently surpassing 1 million views, the wife though it'd be a swell idea to share an updated photo of the twins. Here they are last night 3/5/16. They have doubled and tripled in weight, put on substantial size and are now listed as numbers 9228 and 9229 in Testudo hermanni hermanni Studbook. They'll be getting some real sunshine soon as the temperatures warm up.


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## Gillian M

HermanniChris said:


> In light of the "Separating Tortoise Twins" YouTube video recently surpassing 1 million views, the wife though it'd be a swell idea to share an updated photo of the twins. Here they are last night 3/5/16. They have doubled and tripled in weight, put on substantial size and are now listed as numbers 9228 and 9229 in Testudo hermanni hermanni Studbook. They'll be getting some real sunshine soon as the temperatures warm up.


A lovely pic!


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## christinaland128

They're simply perfect! Love them!


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## Vaughn

HermanniChris said:


> For anyone who has been following my Facebook & Instagram pages, theTurtleRoom and The Reptile Report, we recently hatched twin Western Hermann's tortoises _(Testudo hermanni hermanni) _here. They were joined at the yolk sac only and needed our intervention hatching and separating them. To sum it up, while this did present itself as a challenge, we were successful in separating them and getting them started. Below is a video I put together showing how we did this for anyone else who may experience this down the road.
> 
> I'm happy to report they are doing well and are developed nicely.




I have an elongated egg from my Leopard tortoise - do you think it is Twins?


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## daniellenc

A lot of eggs start elongated but round out as the baby grows.


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## HermanniChris

Vaughn said:


> I have an elongated egg from my Leopard tortoise - do you think it is Twins?


Impossible to know for sure. The twins we hatched in this thread came from a completely normal egg.


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## TortoiseRacket

Vaughn said:


> I have an elongated egg from my Leopard tortoise - do you think it is Twins?


You can’t tell until it hatches or until you can see the number of babies inside if you candle it. Sometimes just a role, push, or a little drop from the mother can permanently scar or kill the baby inside.


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## squirrelkitty

@HermanniChris
I only saw the video for the first time a few months ago.
The twins are the cutest hatchlings I've ever seen! 
Just out of curiosity, do you remember how much they weighed when they hatched, especially the smaller one?


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## Vaughn

My elongated egg, turned out to not be fertilized. But I have hatched 3 babies so far.


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