Box turtle eggs

[Turtle girl 98]

Okay so I'm new here. And new to hatching babies. I have some box turtle eggs and they are 62 days into incubation. About 4days ago they started to get pencil lead size holes on the ends of the eggs and and some of the other eggs have began to flake away at the ends. Others have small cracks that flake away to. And one had a slit in the side with clear goo oozing from it. Not a very big slit either. The babies are active and definitely big while candling. I can see everything down to claws. I'm very nervous that something is wrong with the eggs? Other wise I thought maybe pipping? But in 4 days they haven't progressed at all if that's the case. Not sure how long they take from pip to hatch. Not even sure what a pip looks like. Lol if someone could give me a little insight id be thankful. Just want some people's opinions on what could be going on. Otherwise just wait and see

 

[PJay]

What temperature were they incubated at?

 

[Turtle girl 98]

84 degrees. Like 80% humidity. I have them in damp vermiculite and sphagnum moss. I haven't changed any variables since I first have put them in either. I'm hoping my babies are just on their way and I'm worried for nothing.

 

[PJay]

Your incubation period for the temperature sounds good. They are probably just resting and absorbing their yolks. They made the holes so they get access to fresh air. I would give them a few more days as long as they are active in the shell.

 

[Turtle girl 98]

Okay good I'm hoping so. Yes as of this morning all are active still. I will keep you updated hopefully soon I will have some babies. [emoji3526] What kind of turtles or tortises do you have?

 

[Yvonne G]

Too much moisture in the incubation medium causes the eggs to swell and chip, crack.

 

[Turtle girl 98]

Okay. Do you think that could happen all of a sudden? Without changing anything in the incubator?

 

[Turtle girl 98]

Okay well.. the egg that was oozing the baby stoped moving inside.. I cut the egg open to see if he was okay. He is a full grown little boxie just tad bit premature.. he started moving once I cut his egg open so he could breathe he even lifted his Tony little head up and looked at me and blinked.. His sac was intact besides where he poked through himself so I just kept misting him . Woke up this morning devastated.. i don't think he made it. I misted him this morning and he didn't look at me like usual or even move . I rubbed his shell and nothing.. thinking I made a mistake trying to help.. although the rest of my eggs I believe are hatching. His egg I had set aside for a long time because I didn't think it was even viable and then he pipped prematurely im guessing.. does that happen often? Or was it something I did caused him to try to hatch? The only thing I don't understand is he is the size of a quarter fully developed egg tooth and everything just see through kind of? Waiting on a bunch of other eggs still so hoping at least one or two of them hatch for me.. I also have eggs from another species of turtle in the cooker and they have begun to pip I think. The top of the egg shell has a turtle head sized hole starting to crack outwards. Like flaking away. The rest of all of my eggs with live babies have begun to turn brittle and look like a spider web or a broken windshield? All over the eggs. Thinking from them taking the calcium from the egg? Also poking holes along the outsides in like a circle around the whole egg. I have never had the pleasure of hatching babies before so I am not sure if this is normal hatching proceedure or something is going wrong? I have been trying to find some pictures online of turtle eggs when they begin to start pipping to see if they look like mine.

 

[Turtle girl 98]

Here he is... Is that white thing on his snout his egg tooth? It is hard and sharp.. his shell is even hard. He's quite opaqe.. does anybody know why he was trying to hatch at this size? When I took him out of the egg the sac was literally wrapped around his head.. I wish he would've made it.. the other babies in other eggs look alot bigger than this when candling.. like said before his egg I thought was dead along time ago. He wasn't developing like the others are.