First RT eggs of 2022

[biochemnerd808]

Topaz gifted me with 3 beautiful big eggs today. Pretty eggciting, since if they are fertile, these babies will be CB2.

 

[MichaelL]

Topaz gifted me with 3 beautiful big eggs today. Pretty eggciting, since if they are fertile, these babies will be CB2.

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Congrats! Those eggs look pretty round for a Russian haha. What a beautiful tortoise.

 

[DoubleD1996!]

The gals are starting to make test holes here. Congrats!

 

[biochemnerd808]

Congrats! Those eggs look pretty round for a Russian haha. What a beautiful tortoise.

To me they looks about normal. Some females lay more elongated ones. Topaz' eggs are always this shape.

 

[MichaelL]

To me they looks about normal. Some females lay more elongated ones. Topaz' eggs are always this shape.

Oh wow I guess mine just always lay the elongated ones haha. Cool!

 

[biochemnerd808]

Topaz was back at it today, 16 days after her last clutch. She laid 4 beautiful eggs, weighing 18g, 20g, 20g and 22g.

I tell you, folks, with RT it's worth it to wait until your female is of proper breeding size. This keans she will have no problem passing the eggs through her pelvis, and she will have good instincts concerning where to lay.
In terms of RTs, Topaz is an egg machine. She laid 14 eggs total last year (though because she hadn't been with a male yet, they weren't fertile. But 14 is huge for an RT! She weighs a little over 1000g.

This year, she is off to a good start, her first clutch was 3, this clutch was 4.

 

[biochemnerd808]

Yesterday, Topaz laid again. This is her third clutch, 17 days from the second clutch. She was digging test holes for 2 days, and then yesterday she dug one test hole in the morning, and then finally laid at some point in the course of the afternoon. I know she laid, because her cloaca is all stretched out.... But I searched everywhere in the outdoor habitat where it makes sense and couldn't find WHERE. She is so darn good at hiding her nest holes. So I'm going to have to leave it up to nature. It's certainly warm enough for ground hatches here, but I prefer the control of incubating them in my incubator. Sigh....