# I suddenly found one of my eggs hatched. What should I do next?



## qiangzhu (Aug 1, 2022)

I got 5 tortoise eggs from my female Russian this spring and 4 of them look tossed. But today I saw one nose tip coming out of one of the eggs. I let it be there for a few hours and it is still like this. I am just worried that it cannot breadth, so I helped to break the egg shell a little bit. And now its arm got out of the egg. Should I continue to break the egg for it? Or I just wait for itself to break the egg. I seems to see some yolk or other yellow liquid in the egg so I don't want to break it more before I get some professional suggestions. Thanks!


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## Cowboy_Ken (Aug 1, 2022)

qiangzhu said:


> I got 5 tortoise eggs from my female Russian this spring and 4 of them look tossed. But today I saw one nose tip coming out of one of the eggs. I let it be there for a few hours and it is still like this. I am just worried that it cannot breadth, so I helped to break the egg shell a little bit. And now its arm got out of the egg. Should I continue to break the egg for it? Or I just wait for itself to break the egg. I seems to see some yolk or other yellow liquid in the egg so I don't want to break it more before I get some professional suggestions. Thanks!


If the shell is dry it might help make it more pliable with a bit of misting.


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## Cowboy_Ken (Aug 1, 2022)

Cowboy_Ken said:


> If the shell is dry it might help make it more pliable with a bit of misting.


But I’m no professional.


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## Tom (Aug 1, 2022)

qiangzhu said:


> I got 5 tortoise eggs from my female Russian this spring and 4 of them look tossed. But today I saw one nose tip coming out of one of the eggs. I let it be there for a few hours and it is still like this. I am just worried that it cannot breadth, so I helped to break the egg shell a little bit. And now its arm got out of the egg. Should I continue to break the egg for it? Or I just wait for itself to break the egg. I seems to see some yolk or other yellow liquid in the egg so I don't want to break it more before I get some professional suggestions. Thanks!


NOOOO!!! Don't mess with it. Hachting is a process NOT an event.

Leave the egg alone. It may take two or three days for the tortoise to leave the shell. During this time it might be sitting there absorbing that giant yolk sac and you messing with it can cause damage to that yolk sac which can be fatal. When the tortoise leaves the egg under its own power, pull it out, rinse the incubation media off of it, and soak it. Dampen the incubation media to help them hatch and keep the humidity up in the incubator during this time. Don't touch anything until the tortoise leaves the egg by itself.

More 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)

Cowboy_Ken said:


> But I’m no professional.


Read above #4 from Tom who is a breeder of many tortoise and read the provided information and enjoy the process.


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## Maggie3fan (Aug 2, 2022)

Cowboy_Ken said:


> But I’m no professional.


WTF!!! I thought you were in prison!


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## Yvonne G (Aug 2, 2022)

maggie3fan said:


> WTF!!! I thought you were in prison!


Sh-h-h, Maggie. Don't give away Ken's secrets!


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## Yvonne G (Aug 2, 2022)

Kens suggestion of misting the egg was a good one. Tom's post about leaving it alone was directed to the OP who wanted to chip away some of the shell.


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## Cowboy_Ken (Aug 2, 2022)

maggie3fan said:


> WTF!!! I thought you were in prison!


Vicious rumors! I thought I was dead.


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## Maggie3fan (Aug 2, 2022)

Cowboy_Ken said:


> Vicious rumors! I thought I was dead.


Well now that we know you're not dead...how are ya? And where are ya??


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## Cowboy_Ken (Aug 2, 2022)

maggie3fan said:


> Well now that we know you're not dead...how are ya? And where are ya??


Fine all things considered. Living in Salem. First time off well water in 40+ years!


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## qiangzhu (Aug 3, 2022)

Tom said:


> NOOOO!!! Don't mess with it. Hachting is a process NOT an event.
> 
> Leave the egg alone. It may take two or three days for the tortoise to leave the shell. During this time it might be sitting there absorbing that giant yolk sac and you messing with it can cause damage to that yolk sac which can be fatal. When the tortoise leaves the egg under its own power, pull it out, rinse the incubation media off of it, and soak it. Dampen the incubation media to help them hatch and keep the humidity up in the incubator during this time. Don't touch anything until the tortoise leaves the egg by itself.
> 
> ...


The tortoise finally got out of the shell but its yolk buble still connects (or maybe just sticks) to some part of the shell along with a lot of vermiculite attached to that part. How should I proceed next. I am just worried the yolk bubble may get destroyed if I tried to detach the shell from it. But I also don't want to put it with a large piece of shell to the dishes to rinse and soak it.


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## qiangzhu (Aug 3, 2022)

Just take a Pic to show current conditions


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## qiangzhu (Aug 3, 2022)

Yvonne G said:


> Kens suggestion of misting the egg was a good one. Tom's post about leaving it alone was directed to the OP who wanted to chip away some of the shell.


Can you also take a look at my latest post and give me some suggestions?


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## Tom (Aug 3, 2022)

qiangzhu said:


> The tortoise finally got out of the shell but its yolk buble still connects (or maybe just sticks) to some part of the shell along with a lot of vermiculite attached to that part. How should I proceed next. I am just worried the yolk bubble may get destroyed if I tried to detach the shell from it. But I also don't want to put it with a large piece of shell to the dishes to rinse and soak it.


Gently rinse the baby in warm water, and then soak in warm shallow water for 10-15 minutes. Many babies will drink on day one like this. Be sure the water is shallow as the baby will tip forward while resting on its yolk sac. While the baby soaks prepare a brooder box with damp white paper towels on the bottom and put some leaves, flowers, or edible weeds on top of the paper towels for it to hide in and nibble on. They often don't nibble much on day one or two, but some of them do. I use plastic shoe boxes for this, but the deli cup can work for a little Russian too.

Tomorrow you will soak the baby again, and use a fresh new container to make a new brooder box. I only use the paper towel on day one because they are more apt to nibble on it on day two and beyond. On day two and beyond, lay flat leaves on the bottom. I like to use grape leaves, mulberry, or broadleaf plantain leaves for this purpose. Then I clip a small branch of grape vine or mulberry with a few leaves on it to drop into the box for cover and for them to nibble on. This makes the baby feel more secure, and also helps them flip back over it they end up upside down.

Keep the brooder boxes in the incubator for a few days, and then move them to the enclosure to start getting used to the day/night cycle. Don't move them into an enclosure with substrate until the yolk sac is completely absorbed and the umbilical scar completely closed up. Usually 7-10 days for this, and there is no rush. A month in the brooder box will do no harm if you want.

On the day you move them to the enclosure, soak the baby as usual, and then drop leaves from the same weeds and greens the baby has been living in/on all over the enclosure. Blanket the enclosure with it so that everywhere the baby walks, it finds "food". This will prevent substrate impaction as they explore and nibble on things on their first day in their new enclosure. Keep up the extra leaf thing for a few days and taper it down until there is only food in the food bowl. Add lots of grape or mulberry branches during this time too for lots of shelter and hiding areas. Replace the branches every two or three days as needed and remove any dead leaves that have fallen off.


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## qiangzhu (Aug 3, 2022)

Tom said:


> Gently rinse the baby in warm water, and then soak in warm shallow water for 10-15 minutes. Many babies will drink on day one like this. Be sure the water is shallow as the baby will tip forward while resting on its yolk sac. While the baby soaks prepare a brooder box with damp white paper towels on the bottom and put some leaves, flowers, or edible weeds on top of the paper towels for it to hide in and nibble on. They often don't nibble much on day one or two, but some of them do. I use plastic shoe boxes for this, but the deli cup can work for a little Russian too.
> 
> Tomorrow you will soak the baby again, and use a fresh new container to make a new brooder box. I only use the paper towel on day one because they are more apt to nibble on it on day two and beyond. On day two and beyond, lay flat leaves on the bottom. I like to use grape leaves, mulberry, or broadleaf plantain leaves for this purpose. Then I clip a small branch of grape vine or mulberry with a few leaves on it to drop into the box for cover and for them to nibble on. This makes the baby feel more secure, and also helps them flip back over it they end up upside down.
> 
> ...


sure. Should I get the egg shell which attached to its belly out before soaking it or just soak it with the egg shell?

Thanks!


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## Tom (Aug 3, 2022)

qiangzhu said:


> sure. Should I get the egg shell which attached to its belly out before soaking it or just soak it with the egg shell?
> 
> Thanks!


It will probably rinse away, and if it doesn't, it should come off in the soak. I would not pull it off.


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