# egg bubble



## birdienflight (Aug 14, 2011)

in the tortoise egg, where should the air sac be? Top, bottom, side?


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## birdienflight (Aug 14, 2011)

birdienflight said:


> in the tortoise egg, where should the air sac be? Top, bottom, side?



I ask this question because tonight I candled my eggs for the second time. I candled them sometime in late june. They were fertile in June. Today I am at day 64. The air sac/bubble looks so big. Depending on which way I hold the light I will see either a huge white area or a huge dark area. I had expected to see movement. The air sac is in different areas on each egg. Some at the top, some on the side, some on the bottom. The shells on a couple have a funny color which I cant really explain. Way back in june I saw blood veins and where the tortoise was developing, now I just see large black area or pure white air sac. Does this sound normal for 64 days?


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## TortieLuver (Aug 14, 2011)

What kind of tortoise species do you have? Also, beginning on the day they were laid, did you place them right into the incubator?


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## birdienflight (Aug 14, 2011)

TortieLuver said:


> What kind of tortoise species do you have? Also, beginning on the day they were laid, did you place them right into the incubator?



I am uncertain what type of tortoise they are. They were my aunts and when she passed away, no one wanted them so I took them. I have had them a few years now. They are outside land tortoises. I dont think they are both the same species as ones scoots are smooth while the others scoots as more rigid. Also the female is which has the flat scoots is not as thick as the male with the rigid scoots. Anyway, yes the eggs were incubated within about 6 hours of being laid. I happen to walk outside and found her laying eggs. Last year I just happened to find 5 hatchlings walking around the yard and after hunting the yard over, I actually found the egg site last year, but the five eggs left in the ground had hatchlings that never made it to the surface.


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## Yvonne G (Aug 14, 2011)

Hi birdienflight:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

May we know your name and where you are?

I'd be very interested in seeing pictures of the tortoises. It helps us to give you better answers when we know which kind of tortoise it is. Different species require different care, diet, incubation, etc.


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## birdienflight (Aug 14, 2011)

emysemys said:


> Hi birdienflight:
> 
> Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!
> 
> ...



I will have to get some pictures of them, then of course try to figure out how to post them on here. I am in Bakersfield CA and Im Tanya. 



birdienflight said:


> emysemys said:
> 
> 
> > Hi birdienflight:
> ...



I have googled Ca desert tortoise and though they look a bit like that, they still yet look different. The girl especially doesnt look like a CA desert tortoise. Her shell is so smooth and her color is different. The male is kind of like a CA desert tortoise, but yet doesnt look like one either. Then I looked at Russian tortoises and they seem perhaps a bit to big. I really dont know what they are. I do however know I love them dearly. I feed them well. They love roses, malberry leaves, carrots, broccoli, califlower, and bananas. They have eaten all my strawberry plants and a few other things. LOL They have basically mowed down all the ground cover I once had in my back yard and have made several holes. They have a cave under my pigeon loft that is theirs for the summer, then in the winter I put them in their boxes with towels.


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## birdienflight (Aug 18, 2011)

Update on my eggs. When I arrived home from work this morning. 3 tortoises had hatched and the other 5 eggs are half hatched now.  Very exciting


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## Kristina (Aug 18, 2011)

Congrats! 

Of course we would all love to see pictures if you can get it figured out!

Oh, and just to inform, not picking or anything - "scoots" is "scutes." The raised ridges are called "pyramiding" and most species don't have pyramiding in the wild, but some develop it in captivity. Just because one is raised and one is smooth does not mean they are two different species.

How big are they? Can you take a ruler or yard stick and lay it on the ground and set the tortoise next to it and measure from the front to the back of the shell?


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## zesty_17 (Aug 18, 2011)

congrats on the babies!


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## birdienflight (Aug 18, 2011)

Kristina said:


> Congrats!
> 
> Of course we would all love to see pictures if you can get it figured out!
> 
> ...



AWWWW scutes LOL ok Im a newbie. LOL Yes I will get pictures soon. I am off work Saturday and by then all the young will be hatched and I will get pics of mom and dad and the young.  We are really excited. Today we bought a huge reptile tank, two different types of lights and a few other goodies for when they are indoors. I will need to construct an outdoor safe area for them to get true sun light.


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## Kristina (Aug 18, 2011)

Don't stress it, we were all newbies at one time  I just figured you might want to know!

Can't wait to see the pictures.


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## birdienflight (Aug 18, 2011)

Kristina said:


> Don't stress it, we were all newbies at one time  I just figured you might want to know!
> 
> Can't wait to see the pictures.



Is it safe to take the last ones out of the warmer if they are 3/4 hatched and just sitting their absorbing the yoke sac? Or should I leave them in the warmer?



babies that have hatched


This is the female

This is the male


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## Kristina (Aug 18, 2011)

I would leave them in there. They need to be kept warm, humid, dark and clean until the yolk absorbs and the umbilicus (hole where the yolk is attached to the baby) closes. 

I believe that your tortoises are Florida Gopher tortoises, Gopherus polyphemus. I know they are protected in Florida, but I do not believe that it is illegal for you to have them. I will do some research.

I used to keep a Gopher, the most awesome tortoise I ever had. I want another one so bad that it hurts.


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## birdienflight (Aug 18, 2011)

Im finding there are so many variations of the same type of tortoise. I have no idea of the age of the female. Though she looks visually different than the male. The male is I think 22 years old. I have a card somewhere on his hatch date, but is its about 22 years. I remember when my aunt got the male. Her neighbor handed her the hatchling over the fense and said have it. The female is much older as she was the same size as she is now when the male was a hatchling. So I dont think they are the exact same type. When my aunt passed away a few years ago, I was the blessed one to get them  as no one in the family wanted them, except me


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## Yvonne G (Aug 18, 2011)

I don't know, Kristina...Tonya is in Bakersfield (California). I'm guessing these would be Gopherus agassizzii, desert tortoises.

The female is smoother because she may have been wild caught, and she is older. The male, being captive born and raised, lived an easier life, so you see more of the growth lines. In the wild, these get worn smooth.


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## Kristina (Aug 18, 2011)

Yeah, they looked more like Gophers to me at first, but the hatchling story makes it seem like they are California Deserts instead...

A word to the wise, Tonya... if these are Deserts, you cannot incubate them. It is very illegal, and you can get a severe fine. They really don't even want pairs together, but if they incubate naturally in the ground, that is okay. No incubators though. 

The female has some age on her. I would say she is 40 years +.


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## birdienflight (Aug 18, 2011)

Kristina said:


> Yeah, they looked more like Gophers to me at first, but the hatchling story makes it seem like they are California Deserts instead...
> 
> A word to the wise, Tonya... if these are Deserts, you cannot incubate them. It is very illegal, and you can get a severe fine. They really don't even want pairs together, but if they incubate naturally in the ground, that is okay. No incubators though.
> 
> ...


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