# Against All Odds



## N2TORTS (Nov 11, 2014)

So here’s the scoop…..One of the Hypo Mom’s laid 5 eggs back in June. When I first dug up the eggs I noticed two of them had been punctured by the female while backfilling the nest. The outer shell was broke but inner shell intact. I decided to put them into the incubator just for kicks with actually having no expectations of them hatching. Well ………..guess what?

You can see both eggs with their puncture marks .....and of course the lil' one starting to pip....



This is a first and simply mind blowing for me …….anyone else have a same experience or input?

JD~


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## russian/sulcata/tortoise (Nov 11, 2014)

amazing little dudes!!!!


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## dmmj (Nov 11, 2014)

Never tell a tortoise the odds, they can't do math.


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## wellington (Nov 11, 2014)

Jeff, I'm not sure there is any egg condition you can't hatch over there. i guess never throw them out until they stink is the lesson here. Congrats


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## N2TORTS (Nov 11, 2014)

wellington said:


> Jeff, I'm not sure there is any egg condition you can't hatch over there. i guess never throw them out until they stink is the lesson here. Congrats


Well thank you Barb ....hoping' one of these days you can see them in person ....


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## pam (Nov 11, 2014)

Awesome


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## N2TORTS (Nov 12, 2014)

After posting this last night and all the excitement....looking at the pics (sometimes even better with the macro lens for these old' eyes...)....the other egg is also starting to hatch. If you look very close at the bottom left upper egg in the picture and the back side of it (beginning of this post picture) , you can see a tiny chip starting .....Ahhh yes ..."fresh O2" says the little guy . This morning lots of pips and pokes ......
Did I mention the word " Hypo"? 

I'm still in awe that these two even had fetus development and has inspired me more to research "embryonic development" or more so the construction and role of the egg make up. (Which I thought I knew pretty well) . Again ....pencil size holes in the eggs from day one! = outer shell only...


Remember this picture from couple months back ? ....you can see the hole on the bottom left egg...unfortunately the camera angle of the second bottom egg on the right does not show up in this shot.


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## tortadise (Nov 12, 2014)

Very cool. I have successfully used Vaseline to seal a puncture on a Sulcata egg that hatched. Tried it with a Hingeback and pancake but those didn't work. Wish it did.


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## Maggie Cummings (Nov 12, 2014)

Thanks for the pix J.D. Your threads are always so interesting ...


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## N2TORTS (Nov 13, 2014)

tortadise said:


> Very cool. I have successfully used Vaseline to seal a puncture on a Sulcata egg that hatched. Tried it with a Hingeback and pancake but those didn't work. Wish it did.


All righty Kelly I was hoping you might chime in . Good thought with the Vaseline ^5....I would have grabbed the caulking fist...
Still amazed these two are actually hatching.....


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## Jacqui (Nov 13, 2014)

I have heard folks using glue.


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## bouaboua (Nov 13, 2014)

Just Amazing! ! !


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## Steven Schultheis (Nov 15, 2014)

Never time put some duck tape on it lol. Great story!


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## Moozillion (Nov 29, 2014)

WOW!!!! SOOO cool!!!


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## Moozillion (Nov 29, 2014)

dmmj said:


> Never tell a tortoise the odds, they can't do math.



HA HA HA!!! I am SO stealing this!!! dmmj, you always crack me up!!!!


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## Yvonne G (Nov 29, 2014)

I have heard of people using tape over a crack or hole with success.


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## J.P. (Dec 10, 2014)

congrats!!!

i've seen a similar thing on my python eggs. 
the eggs stick together when laid and sometimes i accidentally "skin" the eggs when i separate for incubation. i just put masking tape over the damage. it doesn't seem to affect development as long as the inner membrane remains intact.


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## Millerlite (Dec 10, 2014)

Alright I need your incubator  you seem to have great luck and it's great that you give these eggs chances when most would not. Did they hatch about the same time as a regular egg?

Kyle


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## N2TORTS (Dec 10, 2014)

Millerlite said:


> Alright I need your incubator  you seem to have great luck and it's great that you give these eggs chances when most would not. Did they hatch about the same time as a regular egg?
> 
> Kyle


Kyle ...yes they both hatched ....the one on the right (bigger egg) had a nice big baby ...the one on the left had a little trouble getting out of the egg and had a larger yolk sac. Both are Hypo's and still in the Neo~nator . I do have another high end incubator that your more than welcome to borrow if you need it for a season or so .....no problems ....
Both eggs were about average incubation times for my Hypo's. Needless to say the Hypo's for some reason take a little while longer to hatch out than the Cherries, with usual times around 145 days +.

For other folks response .....I too have herd of all sorts of methods and tried some myself with no luck. The one reason being (my experience), the outer shell is porous and needs o2 exchange ...plus any contaminants falling in-between the two membranes while incubating and causing the egg to spoil.


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## Jacqui (Dec 10, 2014)

Interesting that the hypos take longer.


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