Preserving Testudo Horsfieldii eggs until incubator arrives.

[DaanV]

Hello, as you can read in the title a certain incubator didn't arrive before my tortoise went into labour...
This can happen of course but it won't arrive for another 5-6 days at least.
The female tortoise lives together with a male and another female, this is her first batch and I've read that they could be infertile but I won't take any chances.
To create optimal conditions for the eggs I've done this so far:

- Removed the eggs from the enclosure (even though they were buried at a very safe depth and covered up thoroughly by the female)
- Put the eggs in a plastic container with a damp paper towel covered with coco peat/soil mix from the enclosure.
- Placed a thermo/hydro dial in the container next to the 2 eggs, and I have found that during the day I can guarrantee a stable temperature of 23-25 degrees celcius which drops to 19-20 deg celcius during the night with a humidity of 50-60 without the lid on and a humidity of 80-90 at night with the lid on.

Now for my question, do I keep the eggs under these circumstances or should I leave them somewhere cold instead until the incubator arrives.

Thanks

 

[Tom]

Hello, as you can read in the title a certain incubator didn't arrive before my tortoise went into labour...
This can happen of course but it won't arrive for another 5-6 days at least.
The female tortoise lives together with a male and another female, this is her first batch and I've read that they could be infertile but I won't take any chances.
To create optimal conditions for the eggs I've done this so far:

- Removed the eggs from the enclosure (even though they were buried at a very safe depth and covered up thoroughly by the female)
- Put the eggs in a plastic container with a damp paper towel covered with coco peat/soil mix from the enclosure.
- Placed a thermo/hydro dial in the container next to the 2 eggs, and I have found that during the day I can guarrantee a stable temperature of 23-25 degrees celcius which drops to 19-20 deg celcius during the night with a humidity of 50-60 without the lid on and a humidity of 80-90 at night with the lid on.

Now for my question, do I keep the eggs under these circumstances or should I leave them somewhere cold instead until the incubator arrives.

Thanks

Remove the damp paper towel immediately. The eggs will take on water, swell, and crack open. Russian eggs need to be kept dry, but with high humidity.

Never use soil for your tortoises or your eggs. There is no way to know what is in that bag of soil from the store. It is made from composted yard waste and they also add in all sorts of weird materials to get the right consistency for growing plants. It could also have chemical residues from insecticides or weed kills that were sprayed on the plants that it was made from. The makers do not intend for it to be used as bedding for animals to live on or in.

Also, do not use perlite. They will eat it upon hatching, and it will line their intestinal tract and prevent nutrient absorption.

Best to use dry vermiculite and keep the eggs in an area that is humid. You can put the eggs in a deli cup, and put the deli cup in a larger plastic tote with some water on the bottom.

As long as they are not wet, and they are kept in a humid area, your eggs will be fine at room temp until the incubator arrives. Don't rush to get the eggs cooking. Take at least two or three full days to get the incubator set up, stabilized and running at the correct temperature. Cool temps will not harm the embryos. Just a few degrees too hot, and those embryos will die. Be careful.

More info here:

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

CONGRATS on the eggs!

 

[DaanV]

Remove the damp paper towel immediately. The eggs will take on water, swell, and crack open. Russian eggs need to be kept dry, but with high humidity.

Never use soil for your tortoises or your eggs. There is no way to know what is in that bag of soil from the store. It is made from composted yard waste and they also add in all sorts of weird materials to get the right consistency for growing plants. It could also have chemical residues from insecticides or weed kills that were sprayed on the plants that it was made from. The makers do not intend for it to be used as bedding for animals to live on or in.

Also, do not use perlite. They will eat it upon hatching, and it will line their intestinal tract and prevent nutrient absorption.

Best to use dry vermiculite and keep the eggs in an area that is humid. You can put the eggs in a deli cup, and put the deli cup in a larger plastic tote with some water on the bottom.

As long as they are not wet, and they are kept in a humid area, your eggs will be fine at room temp until the incubator arrives. Don't rush to get the eggs cooking. Take at least two or three full days to get the incubator set up, stabilized and running at the correct temperature. Cool temps will not harm the embryos. Just a few degrees too hot, and those embryos will die. Be careful.

More info here:

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

CONGRATS on the eggs!

Thanks for your reply, Ive removed the damp towel and replaced the moist cocopeat with slightly drier cocopeat. Sadly this is all I have access to since the Vermiculite will be delivered along with the incubator. I will focus on keeping the eggs dry now. I will place the smaller dry container with the eggs in a larger container with a bit of water like you suggested. Please correct me if I misunderstood your advice. Thank again

 

[Tom]

Thanks for your reply, Ive removed the damp towel and replaced the moist cocopeat with slightly drier cocopeat. Sadly this is all I have access to since the Vermiculite will be delivered along with the incubator. I will focus on keeping the eggs dry now. I will place the smaller dry container with the eggs in a larger container with a bit of water like you suggested. Please correct me if I misunderstood your advice. Thank again

Nope. You understood the assignment perfectly!

Most tortoise species need damp incubation media. This is why "general" information for tortoises eggs cannot be followed for Russians. Many horsfieldii eggs have been lost because of damp media that would have been perfect for some other species.

80-100% humidity is great for Russian eggs, but they should be dry on dry media.

 

[DaanV]

Thanks a lot for your advice. Now they can sit here until the proper equipment arrives.

 

[Tom]

Thanks a lot for your advice. Now they can sit here until the proper equipment arrives.

I would use dry coir or even dry paper towels if you don't have dry coir, and put the lid on the larger container to hold in humidity.

You know not to rotate the eggs, right? It is useful to gently mark the top dead center with an "x" and always keep the "x" up.

 

[DaanV]

I would use dry coir or even dry paper towels if you don't have dry coir, and put the lid on the larger container to hold in humidity.

You know not to rotate the eggs, right? It is useful to gently mark the top dead center with an "x" and always keep the "x" up.

Yes the top sides are marked with a yellowish green line, Its hard to see on the picture but they are there. The coir they're in now is very dry. But eventually it will also be replaced by the vermiculite.

 

[TammyJ]

Good luck!

 

[DaanV]

I have another question if you guys dont mind. I read that while developing the eggs become whiter and whiter due to the ''chalking'''effect (im assuming the egg uses the calcium to harden itself to protect its contents)
About 5 hours after I collected the eggs I made a photo. the same photo I included in the original post above. I played around with some contrast settings to make it more obvious. Could this be the ''chalking'' effect I was talking about?

 

[Tom]

I have another question if you guys dont mind. I read that while developing the eggs become whiter and whiter due to the ''chalking'''effect (im assuming the egg uses the calcium to harden itself to protect its contents)
About 5 hours after I collected the eggs I made a photo. the same photo I included in the original post above. I played around with some contrast settings to make it more obvious. Could this be the ''chalking'' effect I was talking about?

"Chalking" occurs as a wide band around the middle of the egg. I believe what you are seeing there has to do with the eggs being wet in the damp substrate and now moved to drier substrate.

 

[DaanV]

"Chalking" occurs as a wide band around the middle of the egg. I believe what you are seeing there has to do with the eggs being wet in the damp substrate and now moved to drier substrate.

Oh yes that might be possible. I suppose time will tell.

 

[DaanV]

Someone on a local reptile forum contacted me, and is willing to lend me his incubator he uses for bearded dragon eggs. The model is not exactly the same as the one I ordered so im not sure if it can be used for Tortoise. its called the egg-o-bator from luckyreptile. is anyone familiar with this product