# Buying eggs?



## Linz2491 (Oct 22, 2013)

I homeschool my kids and thought the idea of incubating and hatching our own eggs would be very cool. I'm not really interested in breeding and my only breedable tort is a female Russian and I don't have a male anyway.
I was thinking maybe a breeder would sell a couple eggs or let us take care of a clutch and take them back once ready to be sold. 
Would this even be possible if I could get someone to agree? Could eggs make a car ride?
I'd love to hear thoughts.


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## Greg T (Oct 22, 2013)

If properly packaged, you can transport eggs for a short ride. No way to fly or truck transport them though without compromising their position. Once laid and they start the process, you can't rotate or roll them around or it may shift the embryo and kill it. After a day or so, the eggs need to stay in whatever position they are in until they hatch for the best odds of survival.

If you can find someone close with a good reputation, simply bury the eggs in wetted vermiculite so they won't shift or roll until you can get them home.


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## wellington (Oct 22, 2013)

I had asked. Similar question a year or so back. I would love to hatch my own, but I too, don't want to breed. Like already stated, they have to be kept in a certain position, so unless you can find a breeder close to you to personally pick the eggs up, you wouldn't be able to do it.


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## edwardbo (Oct 23, 2013)

You can buy fertile chicken eggs to hatch. It's way to get new blood over seas without the red tape. I recall reading a post about about moving tort eggs found out off season or by surprise . The expert member on here said that you can move found turtle eggs without a problem .early on,the embryo is still floating ,the attachment is not formed yet. So yes you could give it a try ,however to ask for free eggs then send back is a bit much . I remember little quail egg and incubators offered for sale , or try the kits for butterfly's ,tadpoles, praying mantis ........


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## Tom (Oct 23, 2013)

I have heard different numbers and have not experimented to test their accuracy. The range I've heard is from 48 hours to one week after laying, eggs can be moved without incident and it doesn't matter much if they turn at this early stage. A few years ago some members overnight shipped some freshly laid leopard tortoise eggs from Hawaii to the mainland. There was not much mention of it after that, but if I recall correctly it didn't go too well.

On the other hand, for the last two years I have driven all my sulcata eggs from the ranch to my house with no issue. Last year I would dig them up the day they were laid, put them in a shoe box with damp vermiculite and drive them home to the incubator ASAP. This year I left all of them in the ground and dug them all up on the same day. I did this so my baby season would be all at once instead of spread out over six months. Some of those eggs were laid in January, some in May. After I dug them up, they all went into their damp vermiculite shoe boxes and got driven to my house a couple of miles away. I had higher hatch rates this year than I've ever had and bigger healthier babies too. Out of more than 100 eggs, only four didn't hatch. Even my cracked and dimpled eggs were all hatching this year.

So if you can find a local breeder who is willing to part with eggs, and you move them carefully without turning or jostling them too much, you should be able to do it yourself. Now then, do you know what to do with them once they begin to pip?


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## Linz2491 (Oct 23, 2013)

edwardbo said:


> You can buy fertile chicken eggs to hatch. It's way to get new blood over seas without the red tape. I recall reading a post about about moving tort eggs found out off season or by surprise . The expert member on here said that you can move found turtle eggs without a problem .early on,the embryo is still floating ,the attachment is not formed yet. So yes you could give it a try ,however to ask for free eggs then send back is a bit much . I remember little quail egg and incubators offered for sale , or try the kits for butterfly's ,tadpoles, praying mantis ........



I wouldn't be asking for free eggs. I would probably buy them. It would be a bit tricky though and I would love suggestions. Assuming I can get a breeder to work with me, do I pay the price I would for a hatchling? Do I get 2 and hope they are fertile? what if they are not? Now if a breeder was willing to let us incubate a clutch, and I wanted to keep one (or more) then I would have no problem buying them at whatever the normal cost is.
If I bought eggs as is, what is the typical fertile rate? 

* I remember little quail egg and incubators offered for sale , or try the kits for butterfly's ,tadpoles, praying mantis ........*

Those are all nice, but at the end, a TORTOISE wouldn't be coming out! lol




Tom said:


> So if you can find a local breeder who is willing to part with eggs, and you move them carefully without turning or jostling them too much, you should be able to do it yourself. Now then, do you know what to do with them once they begin to pip?



Not yet! But I will learn!


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## jaizei (Oct 23, 2013)

Somewhat related but interesting nonetheless
http://tortoiseforum.org/thread-26371.html


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## Greg T (Oct 23, 2013)

Cost would be dependant on that breeder's reputation. If they can provide a good consistent hatch rate then you should expect to pay somewhere near what they charge for an hatchling. If they don't have much experience, you don't know what may or may not hatch, so you should pay less, or set up an agreement to replace any non-fertile eggs.

People who have been through the hatching process know what to expect for hatch rates and will provide some guarantee to you.


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## Joanne (Oct 23, 2013)

damn, just read this and really want to buy an incubator and eggs now! Expensive over here in the UK though...


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## littlemozzy1987 (Oct 23, 2013)

I've made my own incubator (in uk) get a poly box from an aquatic shop, 2 bricks to retain heat, heat mat with thermostat, and a tray to lay onto bricks, I've used a cake rack. Put a bowl of water with a sponge in for humidity and jobs done xx


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## Joanne (Oct 23, 2013)

Extreme! I found this from Hong Kong... how good it will be though, who knows.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/300946628...eName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

How come bird eggs are so widely available but not reptile eggs? Is it purely a number thing?? Can tortoises and quails cohabit in an outdoor enclosure?


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