My first attempt at hatching Sulcata eggs :) So excited!!!

TommyTheV

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Joined
May 20, 2023
Messages
59
Location (City and/or State)
San Diego, CA
Hi all,

Shortly after I acquired 3 beautiful Sri Lankan Star hatchlings, one of my young female Sulcata decided to lay. This is her first clutch. Honestly didn't know how long they were laid for but its been mid 70's (at most) outside for the past 2-3 weeks in San Diego so even if it was that long I don't think (or hope not) that they incubated yet.

The story is, as I was watering my garden I saw broken egg shells. Upon inspection something dug up a few and ate it. I've recovered 19 eggs. 1 was badly cracked so I just cracked it fully open to see if it is fertile or not and it is!

IMG-2414.jpg

If I include all the broken the clutch size is 24 but I manage to only get 18 to start...

I have an extra 1602 Hovabator (for chicken eggs) laying around so figured why not give it a stab. After 4-5 hours of researching online they have been incubating since May 29th, 2023.

If my math is right (and everything else), I should expect hatching around the 1st week of September! :)

Temp: Mid 80's
Humidity: Min 80's
Perlite as a substrate
No air, no turns
Fingers crossed


Haha

Question: I plan to candle all the eggs by the end of this month. Should I toss out any that doesn't seem to have any veins/growth or should I just keep them all in there for the full term?
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
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Hi all,

Shortly after I acquired 3 beautiful Sri Lankan Star hatchlings, one of my young female Sulcata decided to lay. This is her first clutch. Honestly didn't know how long they were laid for but its been mid 70's (at most) outside for the past 2-3 weeks in San Diego so even if it was that long I don't think (or hope not) that they incubated yet.

The story is, as I was watering my garden I saw broken egg shells. Upon inspection something dug up a few and ate it. I've recovered 19 eggs. 1 was badly cracked so I just cracked it fully open to see if it is fertile or not and it is!

View attachment 357498

If I include all the broken the clutch size is 24 but I manage to only get 18 to start...

I have an extra 1602 Hovabator (for chicken eggs) laying around so figured why not give it a stab. After 4-5 hours of researching online they have been incubating since May 29th, 2023.

If my math is right (and everything else), I should expect hatching around the 1st week of September! :)

Temp: Mid 80's
Humidity: Min 80's
Perlite as a substrate
No air, no turns
Fingers crossed


Haha

Question: I plan to candle all the eggs by the end of this month. Should I toss out any that doesn't seem to have any veins/growth or should I just keep them all in there for the full term?
First and foremost, get them off of the perlite ASAP. When babies hatch they will eat some of their incubation media. If they eat that perlite, it will kill them weeks or months down the road. Use vermiculite instead. Or even plain dirt. Mix water into the vermiculite at a ratio of 1 : 1 BY WEIGHT. So 300 grams of dry vermiculite in you plastic shoe box will need 300 grams of water. Tap water is fine, well water is fine, bottled water is fine, RO or rainwater is fine. Moving the eggs onto new media won't hurt anything as long as you don't turn the eggs. Mark the top dead centers with a pencil and don't change that orientation.

It might only take 80 days depending on how long they were in the ground. Sometimes being in the ground for a while, even with cooler temps, makes them hatch sooner.

Unless you want all males, slowly bump your incubation temps up to the high 80s.

More here:

And even more here:
 

TommyTheV

Member
Joined
May 20, 2023
Messages
59
Location (City and/or State)
San Diego, CA
First and foremost, get them off of the perlite ASAP. When babies hatch they will eat some of their incubation media. If they eat that perlite, it will kill them weeks or months down the road. Use vermiculite instead. Or even plain dirt. Mix water into the vermiculite at a ratio of 1 : 1 BY WEIGHT. So 300 grams of dry vermiculite in you plastic shoe box will need 300 grams of water. Tap water is fine, well water is fine, bottled water is fine, RO or rainwater is fine. Moving the eggs onto new media won't hurt anything as long as you don't turn the eggs. Mark the top dead centers with a pencil and don't change that orientation.

It might only take 80 days depending on how long they were in the ground. Sometimes being in the ground for a while, even with cooler temps, makes them hatch sooner.

Unless you want all males, slowly bump your incubation temps up to the high 80s.

More here:

And even more here:

Thanks for that Tom

I will aim for 88-89F, will that be okay for more females?

Just ordered Organic Vermiculite should arrive soon and change the substrate out. I'll set it up per instructions and try to switch the boxes quickly but carefully so the eggs don't have a sudden big temp drop.
 
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Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,269
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
Thanks for that Tom

I will aim for 88-89F, will that be okay for more females?

Just ordered Organic Vermiculite should arrive soon and change the substrate out. I'll set it up per instructions and try to switch the boxes quickly but carefully so the eggs don't have a sudden big temp drop.
Set up the new incubation box, and if there is room, set both boxes in the incubator for a while to let the temperatures equalize, before moving the eggs into the new box.

Now you next order of business is setting up another large closed chamber and getting the temps correct BEFORE these babies hatch. Buy some new soaking tubs, and enough shoe boxes to do the brooder stage. You won't be able to do the brooder stage in the little Hovabator, so you need to figure out where you will be doing that. It can be done inside the closed chamber enclosure with the right heating and thermostats. They need the brooder stage for around 10 days, and you'll need at least 6 shoe boxes. No more than six babies per box, and you'll rotate boxes daily. Remove the food from the one they spent the night in, soak them in that one, prepare the new box with food, and then move them into the new boxes after the soak. Then clean the "dirty" box and get it ready for the next day. I believe this greatly reduces the bacterial and fungal load in these warm, wet, humid shoe boxes during the brooder box stage.
 
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