Tortstork "Insta-Hatch" Marokkensis Egg!

SweetGreekTorts

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I don't have a YouTube account yet for Sweet Greek Torts, so can't share videos yet. But I've been posting to my Sweet Greek Torts Facebook page, including a 20-second video just now. He's sticking his nose out the hole. Now waiting for the head to come through.

You're all welcome to go there for updates and additional videos as well.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=397362304374759&id=301922697252054
 

Russiantortylady

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Can I ask a question?? What is a an insta hatch egg?? Also what do you guys use for an incubator for the eggs?
 

SweetGreekTorts

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Can I ask a question?? What is a an insta hatch egg?? Also what do you guys use for an incubator for the eggs?
An "Insta-Hatch" egg is an egg that has been proven fertile. It is placed in the incubator and is monitored and candled and documented. After the egg has incubated and the embryo has fully developed, the airsac will begin to expand (this means the tortoise inside is starting to absorb its yolk sac and is preparing to hatch). At this point, the egg is safe to ship, and the person receiving it will put it in their incubator until it hatches.

@shellfreak can tell you a lot more, since he's the Tortstork [emoji6]

I know that Tortstork, and myself, both use the Hovabator 1602N incubator.
 
Last edited:

shellfreak

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Can I ask a question?? What is a an insta hatch egg?? Also what do you guys use for an incubator for the eggs?

Kitty nailed it!

An Insta-Hatch egg is 100% fertile and days away from hatching. The egg is candled and documented through out incubation to confirm that it is developing properly. The egg is shipped 10 days before its predicted hatch date. Like a human’s due date, an Insta-Hatch predicted due date is just an estimate. Based on our experience and knowledge we make the judgment call on when the egg is ready to ship. We use the percentage of airsac that remains in the egg to predict when the best time to ship is. When the airsac grows more than 10% from previous 24 hours, it’s go time!
We ship in a novel way that protects the egg from breaking. If for some reason the egg arrives damaged or the egg does not hatch, we will deal with it in a case by case situation. Since we have started shipping insta-hatch eggs, we have had a 100% success rate with all 44 eggs shipped.
I prefer a hova-bator 1602N. Has a nice window for viewing, but still provides some coverage. (Picture attached)IMG_5918.jpg

If you have any other detailed questions or want to discuss more on how this process works, please email me [email protected].
 

KarenSoCal

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I feel like I'm waiting for a grandchild to be born!
Does anybody think it's OK if I hold my phone in front of my face during church? If he comes out I could give a mighty shout "halleluia"! (Sheepishly looking around after my loud proclamation of praise for my Lord).
 

SweetGreekTorts

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Well, this was the first Testudo graeca marokkensis "Insta-Hatch" egg sold by Tortstork...and for now will be the last...until they hatch one of these themselves [emoji6]

Turns out I've hatched a "black" marokkensis. The darker overall coloring is very rare and highly sought after by breeders of this subspecies. If this little guy hatched at Tortstork, trust me, they would have kept him! But he is mine and I am incredibly grateful and blessed to have him. Here are some updated pics this morning. I also added one of the common coloring of these hatchlings so you can see the difference.

I am really looking forward to raising this rare gem and watching it grow! [emoji173][emoji217]IMG_20190331_063337.jpegIMG_20190331_063325.jpegIMG_20190331_062446_055.jpeg
 

goReptiles

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Very cool. Did tortstork incubate for male before you got the egg? Or did you just finish off on male temps?

Not familiar with incubating tortoise eggs. I used to breed geckos and you had to incubate the same temp the entire process.

Did you request an incubated-male or did they happen to incubate for male?
 

SweetGreekTorts

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Very cool. Did tortstork incubate for male before you got the egg? Or did you just finish off on male temps?

Not familiar with incubating tortoise eggs. I used to breed geckos and you had to incubate the same temp the entire process.

Did you request an incubated-male or did they happen to incubate for male?
Tortstork incubated for male. I bought two incubated female hatchlings from them last year, and now needed a male to breed them when they are all big enough and mature.

You would be correct about maintaining the same temp during entire incubation, it's the same for tortoises.
 
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T
Last summer I received an egg from TortStork. I didn’t get the insta-hatch but a fertilized egg. I had to wait weeks which was torture but my russian baby hatched early in September. It was an amazing experience. I never thought I would be able to see a tortoise hatch. Now that TortStork has insta-hatch eggs I can’t wait to experience it again and again. Randy was terrific through the entire process. I was a pain in the butt with so many questions. My little guy busted out of his egg in 30 minutes hungry and healthy. You folks who breed are so lucky. It was incredible and I can’t imagine what it is like to see them hatch over and over. The third picture was taken this week. “Solo” is a joy and I still can’t believe I incubated him and watched him come into the world.
That’s soooooo cute
 
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