Finally! HET albino eggs

Toddrickfl1

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Well today is 25 days, halfway to hatching. I ended up with with a 50% fertile rate. 4 out of 8 eggs are definitely good. 7 of them chalked and 1 didn't. So I really thought 7 of them were going to be good. The three that chalked that aren't good have had no development. Just what looks like a yolk settled in the bottom of the egg. This could be due to washing them with tap water? Next time I'll know better.Today when I candle the good ones though I can see their little hearts beating. IMG_20200720_185721175.jpg
 

Srmcclure

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Well today is 25 days, halfway to hatching. I ended up with with a 50% fertile rate. 4 out of 8 eggs are definitely good. 7 of them chalked and 1 didn't. So I really thought 7 of them were going to be good. The three that chalked that aren't good have had no development. Just what looks like a yolk settled in the bottom of the egg. This could be due to washing them with tap water? Next time I'll know better.Today when I candle the good ones though I can see their little hearts beating. View attachment 300655
Omg that is so amazing!!! I wish I could see life forming like that ?
Such precious babies! I love these updates!
 

Moozillion

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Well today is 25 days, halfway to hatching. I ended up with with a 50% fertile rate. 4 out of 8 eggs are definitely good. 7 of them chalked and 1 didn't. So I really thought 7 of them were going to be good. The three that chalked that aren't good have had no development. Just what looks like a yolk settled in the bottom of the egg. This could be due to washing them with tap water? Next time I'll know better.Today when I candle the good ones though I can see their little hearts beating. View attachment 300655
THAT IS SOOOOO COOL!!!!! ?
 

Toddrickfl1

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This is really cool to follow along with, so thank you for sharing this journey with us.
This is something I've wanted to do ever since I was a kid. I feel like I'm achieving one of my life goals lol. I can't contain my excitement so I figured I'd share it here with everyone else too. I'm glad your enjoying it!
 

Toddrickfl1

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I would not seal the lid down tightly, either. It is too hard to get them off without disturbing the eggs (at least with the Rubbermaid containers I mentioned). Just leave it placed on top of the container as you have done to keep the moisture in there. If the eggs start to get dry, you can mist them a bit or just add water to the vermiculite by lifting it up and not have to pick up the whole works as I said earlier.

Back in the old days (pre-Hovabators) I used to put turtle eggs in peanut butter or mayonnaise jars (remember real glass jars?) with damp sphagnum moss and put them on top of my refrigerator or my water heater depending upon the temperatures I wanted to achieve and the time of year. Back then neither refrigerators nor water heaters were that well insulated at the tops of both were nice and warm. I still incubate turtle eggs that way on top of my refrigerator. The temperature seems fine (though I don't know exactly what it is, I estimate it at about 75) and the eggs usually hatch in about 57-65 days.
Bill, the vermiculite has seemed to dry out a little bit. I'm still getting an 80% humidity reading from the water in the bottom though. What's the best way to dampen the vermiculite? Just pour some water in or should I mist it and the eggs?
 

Toddrickfl1

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Congrats and good luck with the hatching. It should be coming up pretty soon, right?
A little more than 2 weeks I'm guessing.
 

zovick

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Bill, the vermiculite has seemed to dry out a little bit. I'm still getting an 80% humidity reading from the water in the bottom though. What's the best way to dampen the vermiculite? Just pour some water in or should I mist it and the eggs?
Do you happen to have a sprinkle top? That is what I used to use. They do a somewhat better job than misting with a spray bottle, but there is a drawback in that you need to be careful that the top doesn't come off your bottle when you are sprinkling your eggs. That happened to me years ago and the top (which were metal in those days) fell off and cracked my second fertile Pyxis planicauda egg and the water flooded the whole container. I learned a tough lesson and always held one finger over the sprinkle tops when using them from that day forward.

In the absence of a sprinkle top, you can mist the eggs with a spray bottle and possibly pour some water into one side of the container away from the eggs. When doing this try to have the water the same temperature as your eggs so as not to shock the embryos with water too warm or too cool.

In case you want to see one, here is a sprinkle top: https://www.etsy.com/listing/406617...XDyO48WP-fhDejLxwCuYfBjFxutxD-nxoCdD0QAvD_BwE
 

Toddrickfl1

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Do you happen to have a sprinkle top? That is what I used to use. They do a somewhat better job than misting with a spray bottle, but there is a drawback in that you need to be careful that the top doesn't come off your bottle when you are sprinkling your eggs. That happened to me years ago and the top (which were metal in those days) fell off and cracked my second fertile Pyxis planicauda egg and the water flooded the whole container. I learned a tough lesson and always held one finger over the sprinkle tops when using them from that day forward.

In the absence of a sprinkle top, you can mist the eggs with a spray bottle and possibly pour some water into one side of the container away from the eggs. When doing this try to have the water the same temperature as your eggs so as not to shock the embryos with water too warm or too cool.

In case you want to see one, here is a sprinkle top: https://www.etsy.com/listing/406617...XDyO48WP-fhDejLxwCuYfBjFxutxD-nxoCdD0QAvD_BwE
Thank you.
 

Toddrickfl1

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Well it's time. First pip 60 days on the dot. First little guy almost out, second egg pipped. First little one looks normal. Honestly after talking with some more experienced breeders I have doubts my turtles are even Hets. Either way I've gained some experience and learned a lot from this. Here's the first guy saying hello worldIMG_20200825_061344712.jpgIMG_20200825_061340072.jpg
 

method89

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Well it's time. First pip 60 days on the dot. First little guy almost out, second egg pipped. First little one looks normal. Honestly after talking with some more experienced breeders I have doubts my turtles are even Hets. Either way I've gained some experience and learned a lot from this. Here's the first guy saying hello worldView attachment 304385View attachment 304386
That's awesome!! Congrats, man.
 

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