# Spur Thigh Hatchling with crease in belly shell



## Poppsy (Aug 1, 2022)

Hi,

I have incubated 7 spur thigh eggs, 5 have hatched within 72hrs of each other, 4 look healthy but one took a little longer than the others to get out of its egg and it has a deep crease in the underside of its shell.

Is this a deformity or will it straighten out now it’s out of the egg?

The incubator was set to 29°C and fluctuated between 29-31° but was generally 30.2° with a humidity of around 88%.

Any help would be much appreciated.


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## zolasmum (Aug 1, 2022)

Poppsy said:


> Hi,
> 
> I have incubated 7 spur thigh eggs, 5 have hatched within 72hrs of each other, 4 look healthy but one took a little longer than the others to get out of its egg and it has a deep crease in the underside of its shell.
> 
> ...


Hello Poppsy, and welcome to the forum. I know that shells can straighten out quite a bit, but you will need someone expert to help with this. Meanwhile, is the baby managing to eat and drink ? I would suggest putting it into very shallow warm water to soak for as long as you can, and maybe tip a bit of water over the top of the shell occasionally. 
Best wishes from Angie in Devon.


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## Poppsy (Aug 1, 2022)

zolasmum said:


> Hello Poppsy, and welcome to the forum. I know that shells can straighten out quite a bit, but you will need someone expert to help with this. Meanwhile, is the baby managing to eat and drink ? I would suggest putting it into very shallow warm water to soak for as long as you can, and maybe tip a bit of water over the top of the shell occasionally.
> Best wishes from Angie in Devon.


Hi,

Thank you, unfortunately I can’t find any experts in this area. It hasn’t started to fed yet. I washed it off when I moved it into its own tray in the incubator on damp kitchen roll and have had to make a nest as it falls on its back trying to move.

I will give it a good soak.


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## zolasmum (Aug 1, 2022)

Poppsy said:


> Hi,
> 
> Thank you, unfortunately I can’t find any experts in this area. It hasn’t started to fed yet. I washed it off when I moved it into its own tray in the incubator on damp kitchen roll and have had to make a nest as it falls on its back trying to move.
> 
> I will give it a good soak.


There will be knowledgable people coming online - the trouble is that a lot of them are on USA time, and don't appear until later. I would certainly keep the shell moist - and the egg sac may have stuck the two sides together, so keep that especially damp, to try to unstick it. Poor little thing.
Angie


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## zolasmum (Aug 1, 2022)

Hello again - I was just thinking that if your baby is lying on its back, you might be able to place a thickish piece of paper towel on the crease area, fairly wet, and keep re-wetting it with warm water. Just to keep it as damp as possible.
Angie


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## Poppsy (Aug 1, 2022)

zolasmum said:


> Hello again - I was just thinking that if your baby is lying on its back, you might be able to place a thickish piece of paper towel on the crease area, fairly wet, and keep re-wetting it with warm water. Just to keep it as damp as possible.
> Angie
> 
> 
> ...



There is a clear gap between the egg sack, which is almost absorbed, and the crease which is in front of the sack. I have given it a soak and at the moment is looking stronger and standing up.


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## zolasmum (Aug 1, 2022)

Poppsy said:


> There is a clear gap between the egg sack, which is almost absorbed, and the crease which is in front of the sack. I have given it a soak and at the moment is looking stronger and standing up.


That's fantastic !!! If you can get the little chap able to move about, I think he will be well on his way to getting his shell in shape - it may take a little while, though.Just keep him warm all the time,for now, and damp, with lots of soaking.
Angie


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## Poppsy (Aug 1, 2022)

zolasmum said:


> That's fantastic !!! If you can get the little chap able to move about, I think he will be well on his way to getting his shell in shape - it may take a little while, though.Just keep him warm all the time,for now, and damp, with lots of soaking.
> Angie


Yes, it’s still in the incubator in its own tray on damp kitchen towel. I have now read they are folded in half in the egg and it’s the straightening out that causes the egg to break open. Clearly it was too big for its egg and broke out before fully unfolding. Fingers crossed.


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## Yvonne G (Aug 1, 2022)

Baby tortoises are sort of folded in half as they grow too big to be inside the egg shell. Hopefully your baby will straighten out as he grows. Keep him in a warm, humid container and soak him in warm water daily.


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## Maro2Bear (Aug 1, 2022)

You might also want to place a bunch of shredded wet grape leaves or mulberry leaves in the incubator. Provides moisture, substance & if it nibbles on anything it’s food, not a paper towel.


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## zolasmum (Aug 1, 2022)

If you can't find grape or mulberry leaves, I think some shredded romaine lettuce would be ok - replacing it regularly to stop it becoming a soggy mess.
Angie


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## TammyJ (Aug 1, 2022)

Good luck!


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## Markw84 (Aug 1, 2022)

I've seen babies folded as much as yours and all turned out just fine. I don't see anything I would worry about as far as the fold/crease. However the yolk sac does not look good. It should heal fine if you keep the baby on clean moist paper towels and leaves to let it heal. It looks like the yolk sac had ruptured. It should be a protruding sac that gets absorbed over the first few days. Yours looks like that sac has ruptured.

When babies first emerge from the egg, it is important to immediately put them into a brooder box type setup. A small box like an incubation box you put eggs in. Line the bottom with moist paper towels to protect the yolk sac. Put in lots of chopped up food items for it to start eating. Place the brooder box back in the incubator, or somewhere you can keep it at approximately the same temperature you were incubating. Soak the babies in water 90°-95° for about 30 minutes each day, cleaning and replacing the towels and food items in the brooder box. I keep all babies this way until they have their first fully formed poop in the soak water for the day. Then they can go into their first enclosure.


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## NorCal tortoise guy (Aug 1, 2022)

Yes I’ve had several hatch that way. It’s a normal thing and will straighten out just fine and faster then you think just keep the humidity up.


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## Tom (Aug 1, 2022)

Poppsy said:


> Hi,
> 
> I have incubated 7 spur thigh eggs, 5 have hatched within 72hrs of each other, 4 look healthy but one took a little longer than the others to get out of its egg and it has a deep crease in the underside of its shell.
> 
> ...


What @Markw84 said. Follow his instructions to a "T".


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## Poppsy (Aug 1, 2022)

Markw84 said:


> I've seen babies folded as much as yours and all turned out just fine. I don't see anything I would worry about as far as the fold/crease. However the yolk sac does not look good. It should heal fine if you keep the baby on clean moist paper towels and leaves to let it heal. It looks like the yolk sac had ruptured. It should be a protruding sac that gets absorbed over the first few days. Yours looks like that sac has ruptured.
> 
> When babies first emerge from the egg, it is important to immediately put them into a brooder box type setup. A small box like an incubation box you put eggs in. Line the bottom with moist paper towels to protect the yolk sac. Put in lots of chopped up food items for it to start eating. Place the brooder box back in the incubator, or somewhere you can keep it at approximately the same temperature you were incubating. Soak the babies in water 90°-95° for about 30 minutes each day, cleaning and replacing the towels and food items in the brooder box. I keep all babies this way until they have their first fully formed poop in the soak water for the day. Then they can go into their first enclosure.


Thank you, I’ve kept it in the incubator in its own container with damp kitchen paper and shredded romaine lettuce. Bathed it twice today and definitely improving. 

The other 4 that have hatched so far, had all absorbed their egg sacs by the time they hatched. This one does have more egg sac showing but I was hoping it had absorbed most of it rather than ruptured. I didn’t see anything in the empty shell to suggest it had ruptured.


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## jeff kushner (Aug 1, 2022)

Well Poppsy, you've got the best advise from the best talent possible. You likely never could have expected that but you did. You have hit the proverbial homerun!

and welcome!


jeff


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## Poppsy (Aug 2, 2022)

Thank you all for all your advice.

Here is a photo 24hrs later and Creasy is straightening out nicely.


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## zolasmum (Aug 2, 2022)

Poppsy said:


> Thank you all for all your advice.
> 
> Here is a photo 24hrs later and Creasy is straightening out nicely.


That's fantastic !!! I am so glad - as I"m sure you are, and probably the little chap himself too ! The egg sac looks more closed up, as well. Has he eaten anything yet ? Now he is unsquashed, his insides will be able to workk muchh better, and he will be able to poo and pee eventually.
I would keep him warm and damp,until the egg sac is completely gone and follow Mark's instructions. Are the other babies ok? 
Is his name now Creasy ?
Please post photos of him once he is fully recovered
Congratulations from Angie.


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## Poppsy (Aug 2, 2022)

zolasmum said:


> That's fantastic !!! I am so glad - as I"m sure you are, and probably the little chap himself too ! The egg sac looks more closed up, as well. Has he eaten anything yet ? Now he is unsquashed, his insides will be able to workk muchh better, and he will be able to poo and pee eventually.
> I would keep him warm and damp,until the egg sac is completely gone and follow Mark's instructions. Are the other babies ok?
> Is his name now Creasy ?
> Please post photos of him once he is fully recovered
> Congratulations from Angie.


I had to name it Creasy  the others just have numbers at the moment. They are all lively and keep trying to escape the the glass dishes they are in in the incubator. Dishes are lined with damp kitchen roll and shredded lettuce. Some I think are eating, they will be easier to monitor once they are in the tortoise table. I’m trying to keep them in the incubator but I may have to put them into the table so they can run around.


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## Tom (Aug 2, 2022)

Poppsy said:


> I had to name it Creasy  the others just have numbers at the moment. They are all lively and keep trying to escape the the glass dishes they are in in the incubator. Dishes are lined with damp kitchen roll and shredded lettuce. Some I think are eating, they will be easier to monitor once they are in the tortoise table. I’m trying to keep them in the incubator but I may have to put them into the table so they can run around.


Paper towel is only good for the first day or so. After that they will eat it. Line the bottom with flat leaves and edible things.

Lettuce at this stage is a bad idea. Now is the time that they are learning what is food and what isn't. It is critically important for the long term health of these animals that you introduce a wide variety of weeds, leaves, flowers, and natural foods, so they don't get picky and only want lettuce down the road.

More info here:





How To Incubate Eggs And Start Hatchlings


I put my eggs in a plastic shoe box with a lid on it and put the shoe box in the incubator. You can drill a couple of very small holes around the top of the container, but not on the lid. I use vermiculite as an incubation media. I mix it in a 1 : 1 ratio with water by weight for Sulcatas and...




tortoiseforum.org


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## Sarah2020 (Aug 2, 2022)

Fabulous news ! Creasy has unceased  now you have the ongoing care to ensure health and growth.


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## Poppsy (Aug 2, 2022)

Tom said:


> Paper towel is only good for the first day or so. After that they will eat it. Line the bottom with flat leaves and edible things.
> 
> Lettuce at this stage is a bad idea. Now is the time that they are learning what is food and what isn't. It is critically important for the long term health of these animals that you introduce a wide variety of weeds, leaves, flowers, and natural foods, so they don't get picky and only want lettuce down the road.
> 
> ...





Tom said:


> Paper towel is only good for the first day or so. After that they will eat it. Line the bottom with flat leaves and edible things.
> 
> Lettuce at this stage is a bad idea. Now is the time that they are learning what is food and what isn't. It is critically important for the long term health of these animals that you introduce a wide variety of weeds, leaves, flowers, and natural foods, so they don't get picky and only want lettuce down the road.
> 
> ...





Tom said:


> Paper towel is only good for the first day or so. After that they will eat it. Line the bottom with flat leaves and edible things.
> 
> Lettuce at this stage is a bad idea. Now is the time that they are learning what is food and what isn't. It is critically important for the long term health of these animals that you introduce a wide variety of weeds, leaves, flowers, and natural foods, so they don't get picky and only want lettuce down the road.
> 
> ...





Tom said:


> Paper towel is only good for the first day or so. After that they will eat it. Line the bottom with flat leaves and edible things.
> 
> Lettuce at this stage is a bad idea. Now is the time that they are learning what is food and what isn't. It is critically important for the long term health of these animals that you introduce a wide variety of weeds, leaves, flowers, and natural foods, so they don't get picky and only want lettuce down the road.
> 
> ...





Sarah2020 said:


> Fabulous news ! Creasy has unceased  now you have the ongoing care to ensure health and growth.


I have been including dandelions, cucumber and tomatoes with the lettuce, they don’t appear to be eating much at the moment.

I will remove the paper.

Thank you for your guidance, certainly a learning curve here.


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## Tom (Aug 2, 2022)

Poppsy said:


> I have been including dandelions, cucumber and tomatoes with the lettuce, they don’t appear to be eating much at the moment.
> 
> I will remove the paper.
> 
> Thank you for your guidance, certainly a learning curve here.


With the exception of the dandelions, which are great, all of those other foods should be omitted in favor of weeds and leaves of the right types. The first two or three weeks of life will set the tone for the rest, so its of vital importance to get this right at the start.


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## Gijoux (Aug 4, 2022)

Poppsy said:


> Hi,
> 
> I have incubated 7 spur thigh eggs, 5 have hatched within 72hrs of each other, 4 look healthy but one took a little longer than the others to get out of its egg and it has a deep crease in the underside of its shell.
> 
> ...


Once the babies hatch they should be kept in the incubator in a separate (brooder) box for 10-14 days. The babies are usually folded up like that and in a few days should "unfold". Congratulations on your babies.


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