The eggs are hatching!

[prettybird]

Hi, some of our turtle eggs are hatching already! One is almost all the way out and another one has a hole in it. They are so cute! Need advice on what to do now. How long do we leave them in the incubator and what kind of set up should we keep them in? We have a 20 gal size tank already to put them in with some hides and such, but what type of substrate should we use for the babies? Any advice would be appreciated. We weren't expecting them to start hatching yet.
Thanks, Deanna

 

[tortelini]

Wow, how fun and exciting!! Congratulations!!

I am pretty sure everyone will advise you against a glass tank! However, personally I would check out some of the enclosures and old posts that are on here already. There is a TON of info!!!

 

[prettybird]

we could keep them in a plastic bin or something if that would be better but I need to know about the substrate, when to take them out of the incubator, etc. I'm having trouble finding the info I need on old posts so any advice would be great.
Thanks!

 

[tortelini]

I have absolutely no experience in this area but here is some info I found...I am sure that someone here will give you solid info from experience though! I will keep searching this site and see what else I can find for you!

Do not remove hatching tortoises from the eggshell--allow them to absorb the yolk (this takes two to four days). Some or all of the hatchlings may emerge with the yolk sac still attached to the plastron. This is the only food source they need until it is fully absorbed; therefore, it is vital to the development of the hatchlings and must not be disturbed.

 

[egyptiandan]

Thats great news

When they come out of the egg you'll need to place them in a small plastic container and put them back in the incubator. I use the reusable containers. I smear the bottom of the container with a triple antibiotic ointment. This keeps any yolk sack thats left soft, so it can be absorbed. I usually leave them in the incubator until the yolk sack is completely gone.
I than set them up in a small container (about the size of a 10 gal. tank) with paper towel as a substrate. I do this for a few days and than switch to the substrate I use for all my other tortoises.

Danny

 

[jlyoncc1]

Congrats! Lucky you! Make sure you post pics.

 

[Crazy1]

prettybird, I followed Danny's advice (as above) and had no problems at all with my new hatchlings.
Trust him. Danny gives good advice.
Now Congratulations and we want Pictures PLEASE.

 

[prettybird]

should I put the eggshells in the container with them? we had the eggs incubating in a small container with substrate in it. The first one that hatched is moving all around the container - it's very active! so we had to take the other eggs out that didn't hatch yet and put them in a seperate container because he kept bumping into them. But we left the second one in there with the first because it's amost out and I didn't want to disturb it. So now they are both out all the way in the container but there is substrate in there too, about 1/2 inch. So I should take them out of the substrate then for now? We looked at the first one's belly and didn't notice any yolk sack on there anymore. I will try to post pictures, but I forgot how to attach them. Can you tell me how? Thanks! Deanna

 

[tortoisenerd]

When you hit reply at the bottom of a post instead of doing the quick reply, you have an attachment option.

Or, you can post the picture on a hosting site such as photobucket or tinypic and get the image code for message boards, and just copy and paste it into your reply.

Also see:
http://tortoiseforum.org/thread-1408.html

 

[prettybird]

I am trying to post some with photobucket, hope it works! Here's some pictures we took at first. We will try to take some better ones tomorrow. Thanks for the advice and stuff! Deanna
<center>
<a href="http://s26.photobucket.com/albums/c118/kentdeanna/tortoises/?action=view&current=IMG_0374.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c118/kentdeanna/tortoises/IMG_0374.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />
<a href="http://s26.photobucket.com/albums/c118/kentdeanna/tortoises/?action=view&current=IMG_0375.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c118/kentdeanna/tortoises/IMG_0375.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />
<a href="http://s26.photobucket.com/albums/c118/kentdeanna/tortoises/?action=view&current=IMG_0379_1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c118/kentdeanna/tortoises/IMG_0379_1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />
<a href="http://s26.photobucket.com/albums/c118/kentdeanna/tortoises/?action=view&current=IMG_0381.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c118/kentdeanna/tortoises/IMG_0381.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />
</center>

---

I don't think the pictures worked. Not sure what I did wrong. I copied and pasted the links I generated in photobucket. I do this the same way when I post pics on craigslist and it always works. Any suggestions?

 

[galvinkaos]

post them on photobucket and go to the link and ?left? click it. It will show copied then just paste it here. It will paste with IMG at the beginning. Sorry I am new to this too.

Dawna

 

[prettybird]

I tried it again and I think it's working now.

 

[galvinkaos]

Cool pics.

Dawna

 

[tortoise_addict]

That is so cool. I hope I have eggs one day
I would end up keeping all of them. Congrats on your new babies.

 

[Jacqui]

Just a little reminder, you mentioned hides....with hatchlings, it's best if you use hides with straight sides, otherwise they often try climbing the hides and end up on their backs.

Aren't they just the sweetest little guys? Nothing like having new babies in the house. Those tiny water and food lids just always make me smile too.