# Incubating eggs



## bikerchicspain (Mar 15, 2011)

Hi guys
Need some help,
Mini has laid 4 eggs of which i have put in a home made incubator.

I did some research on whether to leave in the pen buried or put in a incubator. This is what i have found so far, and it is very contradicting,
Those of you more experienced breeders could give me a helping hand.
This is from the Califonian tortoise and turtle club.

It is also possible to incubate eggs in very simple set-ups such as the examples described below, but you must check the temperature regularly:
Place the eggs in an egg carton, and put the carton in an aquarium. Alternatively, cover the aquarium floor with clean sand to a depth of 2 inches, and place the eggs in the sand. Put a cup of water in the aquarium to act as a humidifier. Use a thermometer, placed by the eggs, to monitor the temperature. For a heat source, start with a 15 watt aquarium bulb in the hood; if it is too cold use two bulbs or a higher wattage bulb.
Bury the eggs in a bucket full of sand, so that they are buried just below the surface. Place a thermometer by the eggs. Position the goose-neck lamp next to the bucket and move the light close to the sand surface. Adjust the temperature of the sand by moving the lamp closer or further away.




And this is TortoiseTrust:
When light bulbs are used as the heat source they invariably fail during the most critical phase, just as the egg is about to hatch!. Stability and reliability are the two key precepts to adhere to when incubating tortoise eggs.
We suggest you definitely avoid sand. It does not allow sufficient gaseous exchange to occur, and as a result anoxia is a real danger. It is better to use an artificial, lighter medium such as 'Vermiculite', or instead any non-toxic granular material. Bury the probe of a thermometer alongside the eggs to keep a constant check on conditions.
If the eggs are fertile, expect hatchlings at any point from 7 weeks on! Check the incubator daily after 7 weeks.

So who is right?


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## bettinge (Mar 15, 2011)

I use Vermiculite and have an incubator. Since she will likely have more eggs in the future, I would look hard at getting a real incubator. My favorite is "Little Giant", they are about $50 here in the states.

If you just want to experiment, any humid and tepmerature stable envirnment may work.


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## Tim/Robin (Mar 15, 2011)

I too use dry vermiculite. I don't bury the eggs. I use home made incubators that use a 25 watt red bulb that I installed on the inside. They key is have a good thermostat. Also monitor the humidity. 70% is where you want to be. Good luck!


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## GBtortoises (Mar 15, 2011)

I completely agree with Scott. I have also had very good sucess with Litttle Giant brand incubators. I have used a Hovabator brand also, they're good too but the Little Giant brand seems to have a more uniform temperature gradient. They're inexpensive, simply work well and will give many years of reliable service. I've had one out of four quit on me. It had been in service for about 15 years. Not bad. 
I have always used homemade aquarium incubators, with a submersible heater in water, for aquatic and semi-aquatic turtle eggs with good sucess. But they create a lot more humidity than is usually required for tortoise eggs and they absolutely need to be aired out daily for gas/air exchange. I also wipe them down to help control the humidity a bit. 
I absolutely would not use sand as an incubation medium. It's too dry and does not allow for gas exchange. Vermiculite works very well and can be moistened to keep the egg hydrated in addition to another source of humidity within the incubator.


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## bikerchicspain (Mar 15, 2011)

GBtortoises said:


> I absolutely would not use sand as an incubation medium. It's too dry and does not allow for gas exchange. Vermiculite works very well and can be moistened to keep the egg hydrated in addition to another source of humidity within the incubator.



I to use vermiculite. I did boil it first to kill any germs,
Can i wet the vermiculite as i had to with chamleon eggs or is it enough just having a small dish of water in with eggs?

I know the sand is a big no no. But why do they put such misleading info out there. And they call themselves Californian tortoise and turtle club,
At the moment i have a home made incubator that i made for chameleon eggs, 

I will post pics when i can find my phone cable, i know where it is, Its in the house, but where..lol


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## bikerchicspain (Mar 15, 2011)

I dont beleive it my thermostat has gone up the shoot, The incubator was really hot.
Hope i havent cooked the eggs... 

For now i have buried them in the pen again, in the same spot, i will get a new thermo tomorrow.


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## Tim/Robin (Mar 15, 2011)

Oh Yvonne, how frustrating. I know the pain of incubator issues. I have tried several different ones and finally feel I have a design that works for me. I hope all goes well with them. Hot can be bad, hoping for the best!


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## ALDABRAMAN (Mar 15, 2011)

We have tried several and resort back to the Little Giant's. We have had great success with them for many years, at times up to 14 or 15 going at once. They are about $50 each and have been very dependable for us. They changed the box this year, but the design of the incubator is the same.


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## bikerchicspain (Mar 15, 2011)

That bottom one is very similiar to my incubator.

Its a poliystirene box, with a chicken wire at the bottom with a heat cable on it, 
Then resing on that are 6 small tubes, with another layer of chicken wire,
Then on that a tupper with vermiculte in it a humidity gauge and thermometer and the thermostat probe,
The lid has several holes in it.
I woul love to get that little Giant but by the time it gets to me it will be to late..


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## GBtortoises (Mar 16, 2011)

I wet the vermiculite to the consistency that it will hold together when squeezed in my hand but not to the point that any water is dripping out of it. 
I also replace the bottom section of the incubators with a styrofoam box that reptiles and fish are shipped in. It't the same width and length as the top section of the incubator. This gives more depth to use taller containers for eggs and the water container. I also put a sponge in the water container to act as a wick, seems to raise and maintain the humidity a bit more.


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## ALDABRAMAN (Mar 16, 2011)

GBtortoises said:


> I wet the vermiculite to the consistency that it will hold together when squeezed in my hand but not to the point that any water is dripping out of it.
> I also replace the bottom section of the incubators with a styrofoam box that reptiles and fish are shipped in. It't the same width and length as the top section of the incubator. This gives more depth to use taller containers for eggs and the water container. I also put a sponge in the water container to act as a wick, seems to raise and maintain the humidity a bit more.


Great idea regarding the bottom, I like it.


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## Yvonne G (Mar 16, 2011)

GBtortoises said:


> I also replace the bottom section of the incubators with a styrofoam box that reptiles and fish are shipped in. It't the same width and length as the top section of the incubator. This gives more depth to use taller containers for eggs and the water container. I also put a sponge in the water container to act as a wick, seems to raise and maintain the humidity a bit more.



This is the only complaint that I have about my Little Giant. Its not deep enough. But you've given me a great idea. I have lots of styrofoam boxes that turtles/tortoises came in. I'm gonna' go see if I can find one that fits my incubator! Thanks!!


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## bikerchicspain (Mar 16, 2011)

Thanks guys for the help.

I did not want to start breeding, but ever since Henri nearly died hes a different tort. Always randy.

Talking of which he has to be in solitary because he rams any tort even yearlings, Any ideas why?
I know it can be a sign of dominance or mating ritual. But he does it to all of the torts all day long, These are the torts that he has lived with for about 3 years.
He doesnt like being on his own because he just paces up and down his pen til bed time...


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## bettinge (Mar 16, 2011)

One differance between the "Little Giant" and the Hovabator is the wattage. They are 40 and 25 watts respectively. I think the 40 watts is important if there happens to to more temperature fluctuation in the room than you would like. Thats about 40% more heat when needed.


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## Shelly (Mar 17, 2011)

Do you incubate all tortoise eggs the same, without regard for species?


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## ALDABRAMAN (Mar 17, 2011)

Shelly, not sure who you are asking. We only incubate one species, some variance in species for sure. We use one incubator per clutch, mostly for records and no cross contamination issues, if any. We have used the Little Giant models for decades and they have always been consistantly good. Never had any issues with maintaining steady temperatures once they were set. I do know some that do incubate several different species at once in the same incubator, just works better for us not to.


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