# Under Developed **GRAPHIC**



## N2TORTS (Nov 23, 2013)

Here we see an egg that turned sour during incubation ( for what ever reason) â€¦.as with most failed attempts , I try and learn how , what and why took place. Cracking this egg open and finding a tiny developing embryoâ€¦.and one of the most distinguishable features you can see is the eye development.


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## TommyZ (Nov 23, 2013)

Hey JD, 

What do you speculate caused it to go bad? Also, how were you able to tell it was bad? Is it something that is visible externally? I ask because the shell there looks ok, just wondering the methods.


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## kathyth (Nov 23, 2013)

Poor baby! I hope you can figure it out.
I'm sorry he didn't make it.


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## N2TORTS (Nov 23, 2013)

TommyZ said:


> Hey JD,
> 
> What do you speculate caused it to go bad? Also, how were you able to tell it was bad? Is it something that is visible externally? I ask because the shell there looks ok, just wondering the methods.



Tom ... there are several factors to look for â€¦.and of course always the curve ball ( like 
the last hypos to hatch out , which I really didnâ€™t think they would ) Some of those factors include â€¦ dark purple / black coloring, no coloring at all , smell ( your nose is a very highly tuned receptor) and even weight of the eggâ€¦.all of these need to be taken into consideration. As mentioned there are always the what ifâ€™s ? This egg was waaay past due , so I cracked it open. Itâ€™s clutch mates were born months back .


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## AnnV (Nov 23, 2013)

Thanks for sharing. Sorry the little guy didnt develop.

Little off topic but are tort eggs hard shelled like chicken eggs? Can you literally crack them open?
And what do they look like inside when just laid? Is it yolk and albumin like chicken eggs? Sorry for all the questions. Just curious.


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## Team Gomberg (Nov 23, 2013)

*Re: RE: Under Developed **GRAPHIC***



AnnV said:


> Little off topic but are tort eggs hard shelled like chicken eggs?
> 
> Can you literally crack them open?
> 
> ...



Oooh, good questions.
Especially that last one.......


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## N2TORTS (Nov 23, 2013)

Team Gomberg said:


> AnnV said:
> 
> 
> > Little off topic but are tort eggs hard shelled like chicken eggs?
> ...




The eggs vary in size and can be even larger than chicken eggs or small like a ping pong ball. The egg itself consists of the Shell, Shell Membrane,
Blastodisc, Yolk, ,Albumen, and Air Space.
The shell even though hard and solid to the naked eye actually has pores that allows air to reach the embryo. Next the leathery shell membrane rests against the inside of the shell. This is where many of the blood vessels form in the inside of the shell membrane as the embryo develops, and what folks see visually when â€œcandlingâ€ the eggâ€¦. It is through this membrane that the blood vessels absorbs oxygen to carry to the developing embryo. The clear goo inside the egg is call â€œAlbumenâ€ and is made up of proteins that supplies the embryo with moisture and nutrients .The yolk itself serves as a source of
food for the developing embryo. There is a small whitish spot on the surface of the yolk.
This spot is the blastodisc. It will develop into an embryo if the egg is fertile.











Speaking of birds â€¦.I used to hatch them out too! â€¦..
Here is a peacock â€¦â€¦





Now if I could only Hybrid the two â€¦.?â€¦.





Here is another shot of a " bad egg" ... with Albumen, embryo and protein goo ball...........


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## Team Gomberg (Nov 23, 2013)

Jeff, do you see why I want you to speak? You have so much to share!!

One question I still have. If you took a freshly laid tortoise egg and cracked it open, would it look like the chicken eggs I crack in the pan for breakfast? :shy: hey, I'm just curious... If you don't know, ask!


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## N2TORTS (Nov 24, 2013)

Team Gomberg said:


> Jeff, do you see why I want you to speak? You have so much to share!!
> 
> One question I still have. If you took a freshly laid tortoise egg and cracked it open, would it look like the chicken eggs I crack in the pan for breakfast? :shy: hey, I'm just curious... If you don't know, ask!



Yes â€¦it looks very similarâ€¦.and is gross as it sounds - Very edible and highly nutritious .


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## Jacqui (Nov 24, 2013)

Some wonderful pictures there showing what your talking about.


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## AnnV (Nov 24, 2013)

Until I had chickens in my backyard, I never gave it much thought. But eggs (hatched outside the body) are a fascinating evolutionary creation.
I had trouble choking down our first egg. Actually, for the first dozen or so, I could only bear to use them for baking or other mixed dishes that they disappeared in to. I never ate anything that came out of a "pet!" LOL I soon got over that.
After a couple years I got my first "broody" and we got chicks. Under ideal conditions, a chicken egg can hatch in as little as 19 days with 21 more the norm. I just held that first chick and stared, knowing that just 3 weeks ago, this precious, and precocious life could have been an omlet.

Turtles amaze me even more! How can something sit and slowly develop at such a snail's pace and NOT DIE. Some of the lengths of incubation I have heard for certain species seems impossible!
Does anyone know the longest incubation ever?


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## nate.mann (Nov 24, 2013)

AnnV said:


> Until I had chickens in my backyard, I never gave it much thought. But eggs (hatched outside the body) are a fascinating evolutionary creation.
> I had trouble choking down our first egg. Actually, for the first dozen or so, I could only bear to use them for baking or other mixed dishes that they disappeared in to. I never ate anything that came out of a "pet!" LOL I soon got over that.
> After a couple years I got my first "broody" and we got chicks. Under ideal conditions, a chicken egg can hatch in as little as 19 days with 21 more the norm. I just held that first chick and stared, knowing that just 3 weeks ago, this precious, and precocious life could have been an omlet.
> 
> ...



would like to know the answer to that as well


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## N2TORTS (Nov 24, 2013)

â€œArrested embryonic development involves the down regulation or cessation of active cell division and metabolic activity, and the capability of an animal to arrest embryonic development results in temporal plasticity of the duration of embryonic period. Arrested embryonic development is an important reproductive strategy for egg-laying animals that provide no parental care after oviposition. In this review, it is discussed each type of embryonic developmental arrest used by oviparous reptiles.â€


An excellent paper on some of those questions ..â€¦.


http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2012/03/15/rspb.2012.0100.full.ht


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## AnnV (Nov 24, 2013)

*Re: RE: Under Developed **GRAPHIC***



N2TORTS said:


> An excellent paper on some of those questions ..â€¦.
> 
> 
> http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2012/03/15/rspb.2012.0100.full.ht



Oh, thank you! This does answer all the questions and more! It is long though, so I will have to continue at another time. I got about a third thru and am starting to get the big picture!


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