Crystal laid eggs in winter!

[jUMPSu1t]

Hello, everyone! Yesterday our female Russian tortoise, Crystal, laid two eggs, and we're wondering how much of a chance these ones have, especially considering they were laid in winter. We're following the advice we got after our first clutch failed, including more water in the incubator to increase air humidity and less in the eggs' cups themselves, and we're hoping that does it. Our incubator is set to target 87 degrees Fahrenheit; below there's a picture of how the eggs are set up. Last time the eggs failed to chalk; do we have a better chance this time or will the seasons throw everything off?



Thanks in advance for answering my question, y'all! I hope I can hatch some chubby lil Russian tortoises

 

[DoubleD1996!]

Hello, everyone! Yesterday our female Russian tortoise, Crystal, laid two eggs, and we're wondering how much of a chance these ones have, especially considering they were laid in winter. We're following the advice we got after our first clutch failed, including more water in the incubator to increase air humidity and less in the eggs' cups themselves, and we're hoping that does it. Our incubator is set to target 87 degrees Fahrenheit; below there's a picture of how the eggs are set up. Last time the eggs failed to chalk; do we have a better chance this time or will the seasons throw everything off?

View attachment 338745

Thanks in advance for answering my question, y'all! I hope I can hatch some chubby lil Russian tortoises

I feel as long as eggs are fertil and chalk, the season shouldn't matter. You could try shining a light over the eggs in a dark room to check for embryo. Sometimes it could take up to a week or two of incubation to start noticing veins.

 

[Tom]

Hello, everyone! Yesterday our female Russian tortoise, Crystal, laid two eggs, and we're wondering how much of a chance these ones have, especially considering they were laid in winter. We're following the advice we got after our first clutch failed, including more water in the incubator to increase air humidity and less in the eggs' cups themselves, and we're hoping that does it. Our incubator is set to target 87 degrees Fahrenheit; below there's a picture of how the eggs are set up. Last time the eggs failed to chalk; do we have a better chance this time or will the seasons throw everything off?

View attachment 338745

Thanks in advance for answering my question, y'all! I hope I can hatch some chubby lil Russian tortoises

There is not reason why they shouldn't hatch. We don't really have "winter" here.

I see you used vermiculite. Did you leave the vermiculite dry? Russians need dry media, and humidity is maintained by having water in the incubator. It looks like that is what you have done there, so it should work.

Every baby that hatches is a victory for the species, so I hope you succeed and have many more to come!

There may be some tips in here that will help you:

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

 

[Lyn W]

Are you keeping the pair together?

 

[Toddrickfl1]

Good luck ?

 

[jUMPSu1t]

There is not reason why they shouldn't hatch. We don't really have "winter" here.

I see you used vermiculite. Did you leave the vermiculite dry? Russians need dry media, and humidity is maintained by having water in the incubator. It looks like that is what you have done there, so it should work.

Every baby that hatches is a victory for the species, so I hope you succeed and have many more to come!

There may be some tips in here that will help you:

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

I added only a tiny bit of water to the vermiculite, and it's mostly dry. Think the texture of the sand the waves just barely touched at the beach. The cups we put the eggs in are sitting in a large Tupperware full of water. Let's hope these little guys hatch!

 

[jUMPSu1t]

Are you keeping the pair together?

They usually live together, but we have ways to separate them into different sections of the enclosure and Crystal always goes to a separate enclosure to lay her eggs in peace.