Egg progress...am I getting close?

jdfick

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Alright, first timer here realizing that waiting for redfoot eggs to hatch gives new meaning to the word "patience."

My eggs have gone from visible veining, embryo development and even movement (as in the first picture) to being clear on the top and dark on the bottom (as in the second picture). I'm assuming that the tortoise embryo has just developed and is filling the lower part of the egg, but not sure why the space above it seems to be growing. Seems like the Tortoise should be filling the egg as it grows, no? They have looked similar to this last pic for the last couple of weeks, and the only noticeable change is the growing separation of light and dark. Am I soon to have hatchlings or am I in trouble?

Just for information, I actually have no idea how long these were in the ground before I found them. I think she probably laid them while I was on vacation in July. I found them 08/31 and they were already chalked and had some veining. So it has now been 51 days since I put them in the incubator. But since this is my first time, I am trying to figure out how far along they might be. There were 7 eggs in the ground, one of them was cracked. 5 of the 6 have developed like the attached pictures and one seems like it is only now possibly beginning to develop.

I also found a second clutch about 2 weeks ago. Most of those seem to be developing well. Thanks.

141F49EF-54B2-4590-BCCE-21760346B3DF_1_105_c.jpeg 4C7E75D9-C8C8-4029-BA9F-0B6E6A86343C_1_105_c.jpeg
 

Yvonne G

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In my INexpert opinion, I would say the egg in the second picture is not fertile.
 

Yvonne G

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Yeah. There's no baby growing in there.
 

G-stars

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I disagree and believe there is definitely a baby tortoise in there. The light part of the egg on top is air; let me explain. As the embryo gets larger they absorb more and more of the yolk sac, this is replaced by air, the light part of the egg on top. Hence why the only difference you see now is the difference between dark and light. It’s definitely hard to judge based of pictures but I think that egg is fertile and will be hatching soon.
 

jdfick

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I disagree and believe there is definitely a baby tortoise in there. The light part of the egg on top is air; let me explain. As the embryo gets larger they absorb more and more of the yolk sac, this is replaced by air, the light part of the egg on top. Hence why the only difference you see now is the difference between dark and light. It’s definitely hard to judge based of pictures but I think that egg is fertile and will be hatching soon.
That makes sense to me. I sure hope you're right because the suspense is killing me. Thanks for chiming in. I guess we shall have to wait and see.
 

treefrog010

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Just came across this post. The eggs pictured were fertile and appear to have died at about 1.5 months of incubation. This seems to be due to a power outage however, could have been caused by a # of reasons. Anything from incorrect incubator parameters to bacterial infection in the adults
 

Maro2Bear

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Well it turns out there were tortoises in there. They were just waiting for me to leave on a business trip to hatch. The first one is out and a second is pipping. My wife keeps sending me pictures. I think this first one is a pretty good looker.

Very nice! Wow.....patience really is a virtue.
 

G-stars

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Well it turns out there were tortoises in there. They were just waiting for me to leave on a business trip to hatch. The first one is out and a second is pipping. My wife keeps sending me pictures. I think this first one is a pretty good looker.

That is awesome congratulations.
 
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