# Surprise Sulcata eggs need help.



## furry_bandicoot (Nov 27, 2012)

Hi I'm new to the forum and and I think I might have a problem lol

I'm house sitting for a friend and she has 8 Sulcata's, and when I went to close them up for the night the only female she has was laying eggs.

I called her to ask her what to do and she said just toss them in the garbage when she was done laying 0-o 

Well I couldn't bring my self to do it. 

I was able to get all 10 eggs out and facing the way they were laid (not turned) but now I have 10 Sulcata eggs.

I don't know if candling them at this stage works, (I have only worked with pythons and this is my first time really dealing with any other egg)
but the eggs were kinda yellow orange inside. (good, bad, don't matter?)

I really could use some info on making a quick incubater... I have a heating pad inside my oven right now with the eggs in a shoe box style tub with holes and some Hatch Right. I have them buried about half way.

I have a 12 volt tiny fan in there going (in the oven) to keep the air flowing but I just dont know what to do...

Temp right now is 86 but what should be the humidity? 

Thanks a bunch for any info you can give.

Loosing my mind,
Jess


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## Yvonne G (Nov 28, 2012)

Hi Jess and welcome to the Forum!

Most feed supply stores and some pet stores sell the Little Giant Bird Brooder. Its about $40. I'm sure you can buy it online if you can't find it at a feed store. What you're doing sounds ok to me, however, I'm sure at some point in the near future you may like to bake some cookies or maybe a pot roast.


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## lovelyrosepetal (Nov 28, 2012)

I am really glad that you are trying to save those babies. I would pm Tom, Neal, Aldabraman, or any breeder on here to find out what you should do. They are so knowledgeable and love to help. Good luck and keep us posted.


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## furry_bandicoot (Nov 28, 2012)

There is a feed store right down the road from her I will see if they have one this time of year. You have no clue how badly I want to bake something but my oven is broken lol so i cant use it. (stove works but oven is shot  )

I'm hoping that they have some in stock this time of year.


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## furry_bandicoot (Nov 28, 2012)

lovelyrosepetal said:


> I am really glad that you are trying to save those babies. I would pm Tom, Neal, Aldabraman, or any breeder on here to find out what you should do. They are so knowledgeable and love to help. Good luck and keep us posted.



Rumor has it that there is a breeder of Sulcatas out near me... but for the life of me I can't find him... he wrote a useful little book that Im sure a lot of new Sulcata owners have. 

I believe his name is Richard Fife. 

I had borrowed his book from a friend who knows him. I had his address a long time ago but I just ended up lost lol.


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## Yvonne G (Nov 28, 2012)

lovelyrosepetal said:


> I would pm Tom, Neal, Aldabraman, or any breeder on here to find out what you should do. They are so knowledgeable and love to help.



Thank you, Lovelyrosepetal.


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## lovelyrosepetal (Nov 30, 2012)

I believe I have heard the name, Richard Fife, somewhere  

I did not mean to sound like you should not listen to Yvonne. She really knows so much. I just thought that if you pm'd a breeder they could give you some pointers. I would definitely listen to Yvonne, she has lots of experience and so much good insight.


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## Tom (Nov 30, 2012)

I would do as Yvonne suggested and go buy an incubator. Little giant works great and so does the Hovabator. They cost around $50 where I am.

Leave the eggs in their shoebox in the hatch right in the oven while you get the temp set up correctly in the new incubator. Let it run overnight or for a couple of days to make sure you've got it where you want it. You don't want to be making adjustments once the eggs are in it. I find that my shoeboxes fit better in the Hovabator since it is a little taller inside. Once your incubator has been set and quadruple checked over night, and all day, then just move the shoe box into it. I like to fill the water channels in the bottom of the incubator and keep them topped of during incubation. I usually do not need to add any water to the media during incubation, but you might. So check it and don't let it dry out. The eggs take around 90 days to hatch at 86-88. I will usually add a little water to the media the week or so before they are due to hatch. I think this simulates their rainy season and helps them to hatch. Use your judgement. You don't want them overly wet OR overly dry.

Then, what are you going to do with 10 sulcata babies?


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## sibi (Nov 30, 2012)

Yes, just what are you planning to do with 10 babies?


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## furry_bandicoot (Dec 2, 2012)

Thanks for the info Tom. As soon as i get on a real computer (using a Droid) I will PM some of the people that were mentioned. my phone keeps giving me greef with this site. I can reply to pm's but searching and pm ing is hard. I have a date with a computer at the Library on Tuesday 

The 10 eggs will be getting homes... if any of them are good the first one has been promised to the owner of the mother tort. but she thinks that the eggs wont be fertile. this is the 3rd year this female has been laying and none of the eggs ever make it or show any signs of life. but maybe this year they might. 

at my work I have 3 bosses and all 3 live out by where the eggs came from. so at least 3 will be getting homes with my bosses. the owner of my place of work would like a baby as well. he has 3 Sulcatas and he would like to give his wife one for her birthday in April. 

my husband wants to keep one and so does my brother inlaw. There cat just passed and they just bout a place in Phoenix with a huge fenced in back yard that is already tortoise "proof" (old owners had torts for 20 some odd years I guess.. don't know all the facts to that.) 

Some one here on the forum has made a request for one so that will leave 2 left over to find homes for that are fitting.

I have talked to a few friends of mine that are tort owners and they also know other people in the tort world that might be interested so they will put out the word if the eggs hatch.

I ordered a hovabator, but the only problem is that it will take a month to get here.... I cant buy online because UPS wont deliver to a PO box and the place that has it for the price I can afford wont ship USPS. 

I live in an RV at the moment while looking to buy a good chunk of property and I don't really have an "address" so to speak at the moment lol. I put in the offer for the place... now just waiting for a reply back from the seller. Crossing fingers that my offer is excepted. I might just be able to have my chickens again!! if not I have a little more to put down for an offer. my agent is really working hard for me. and she wont be getting squat for this buy due to the selling price of the place being as low as it is. bless her heart. she has been a good friend for 15 years.


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## furry_bandicoot (Dec 3, 2012)

The heating pad that i had for the eggs up and kicked the bucket 2 days after I turned it on... Luckily my husband was home and heard the alarm go off and fixed the issue using a set of C7 lights. Bless his heart! 
I came home from work to find this... blinking lights in my oven! hahaha! any ways we got rid of the 2 blinking lights and after some playing around with how many lights it takes to keep a consistent temp (5 C7's) we think this will have to do until my hovabator comes in. 

So. I candled the eggs this morning and I have air pockets in 7 of the 10 eggs so far. they have also gone from a yellowish color to a deep orange (I have not candled them in the dark yet.)

So I think I must be doing something right so far. but I wont count my torts before they hatch lol.


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## dcwolfe (Dec 3, 2012)

This is great stuff, good luck to you and I hope something happens.


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## furry_bandicoot (Mar 7, 2013)

Well I have great news. They are hatching. 2 out of the 10 eggs were bad and one egg cracked early on but that egg is the one who is the most active in the hatching. 
My hovobator came in but it was broken and I was not able to get a new one so I took my chances with the C7s and well the proof was in the pudding I guess. I'm going to post a new thread asking some questions as to what to do next because I'm not finding much online.


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## DesertGrandma (Mar 7, 2013)

Congrats. That is good news. So you basically incubated them in the oven?


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## TortTopper (Mar 7, 2013)

Wow! Thats great.


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## murdocjunior (Mar 7, 2013)

Any pics?


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## Moozillion (Mar 8, 2013)

WOW!!! What a fun thread- and what a cool thing for you to do!  Congratulations!!!


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## AZtortMom (Mar 8, 2013)

Congrats!


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## Momof4 (Mar 8, 2013)

How exciting! I am really surprised they made it. We can't wait to see photos.


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## bigred (Mar 8, 2013)

glad they are hatching for you


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## mctlong (Mar 8, 2013)

Wow, what an awesome story!


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## Jacqui (Mar 8, 2013)

So neat how this story is ending up!


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## furry_bandicoot (Mar 9, 2013)

Thanks every one! yeah I basically did incubate them in my broken oven LOL and it worked out great. 2 perfect babies so far and 2 more are piping this morning. There seems to be no outside issues with them. all scutes are Perfect! I would have thought that with them being incubated with C7s and the temp flux i encountered there might have been some issues. but OMG they are the most beautiful little things on earth.


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## Moozillion (Mar 9, 2013)

OMG that is SO CUTE!!!  One looks like he's backing out of his shell...


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## Shannon and Jason (Mar 9, 2013)

Awe how precious!!!! Can't wait to see more


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## AZtortMom (Mar 9, 2013)

OMG! So cute!!


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## surie_the_tortoise (Mar 9, 2013)

wow that is awesome. look forward seeing pics of them growing


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## sissyofone (Mar 9, 2013)

They are precious babies. Congratulations


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## Pokeymeg (Mar 10, 2013)

Awww cuties!


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## TotallyRad (Mar 10, 2013)

Just look at those precious babies and know that YOU saved their lives!!! Good job my friend and what a story with "oven incubation"!!!!!
Another great day in sulcata baby history


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## laney (Mar 10, 2013)

Good on ya!!! Just think, they would have been thrown away and now they are little bundles of life  thanks to you!!


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## corncake200 (Mar 10, 2013)

good luck


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## Tortuga505 (Apr 24, 2013)

Wow! That is a great story! Good luck with those babies


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## shanu303 (Apr 26, 2013)

WOW!! that's an amazing story..... Goodluck with those babies


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## wiccan_chicken (May 6, 2013)

Wow, incubating them in an oven! Good on you for saving them! These sweet things get a nice chance at life now. Enjoy the babies


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## contessa20 (May 7, 2013)

Oh my sweet holy heaven! This is so awesome!!!
Those are the most precious things I've ever seen.


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## Jbandy (May 7, 2013)

Awesome Story


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