Update

[Danny]

hi guys

just letting you know my other female has just laid three eggs as well i hope their all fertile.

does anyone know how long before i will be able to tell if their fertile or not?

 

[stells]

At about 10 days in you should be able to see the ring of life... when candling...

Before that you should see the eggs chalking up...

 

[hali]

owww how exciting .........

 

[Stephanie Logan]

Best of luck to seeing some pipping and hatching in another few months or so...

How long do tortoise hatchlings gestate again? I know it can vary, but what's the "ball park" average, I wonder?

 

[GBtortoises]

Tortoises and any other egg laying animals don't actually "gestate". Gestation takes place primarily in mammals and a few species of reptiles and aquatic animals. Simply put if it hatches from an egg it incubates, if it is born live from the mother it gestates.

Hermann's (and other Testudo species) incubation period depends upon temperature and humidity throughout the incubation period. In captivity it may vary from around 52-65 days or longer. In the wild usually longer.

I've been finding in recent years that if I completely cover the eggs in the incubation medium (potting soil & vermiculite mix), cover it with a thin layer of moss and leave them alone at temperatures from 87-89 degrees with an average humidity within 75-85% the hatchlings come up to the top in about 75 days, yolk sac completely absorbed, bigger, stronger and more alert. As opposed to the way that I used to incubate which seems to be the more "traditional" for most people which is to half bury the eggs in moist vermiculite leaving the tops exposed. Hatchlings incubated like this usually come out of the eggs with full or partial yolk sacs, still partially contorted from being the egg and usually take a few days to begin "acting normal". I doubt they exit the nest in this condition in the wild.
I have used both methods side by side and have had much better results with the first mentioned method.

 

[bettinge]

GB, what depth do you put your eggs in the soil vermiculite mix?

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

Tortoises and any other egg laying animals don't actually "gestate". Gestation takes place primarily in mammals and a few species of reptiles and aquatic animals. Simply put if it hatches from an egg it incubates, if it is born live from the mother it gestates.

Hermann's (and other Testudo species) incubation period depends upon temperature and humidity throughout the incubation period. In captivity it may vary from around 52-65 days or longer. In the wild usually longer.

I've been finding in recent years that if I completely cover the eggs in the incubation medium (potting soil & vermiculite mix), cover it with a thin layer of moss and leave them alone at temperatures from 87-89 degrees with an average humidity within 75-85% the hatchlings come up to the top in about 75 days, yolk sac completely absorbed, bigger, stronger and more alert. As opposed to the way that I used to incubate which seems to be the more "traditional" for most people which is to half bury the eggs in moist vermiculite leaving the tops exposed. Hatchlings incubated like this usually come out of the eggs with full or partial yolk sacs, still partially contorted from being the egg and usually take a few days to begin "acting normal". I doubt they exit the nest in this condition in the wild.
I have used both methods side by side and have had much better results with the first mentioned method.

You've confirmed what I've long suspected...never seen half buried reptile eggs on the wild, so why not more closely imitate how Mama Tortoise does things?

 

[GBtortoises]

I place the eggs in plastic containers that is about 5" high. I loosely place a mixture of about 25% vermiculite mixed well with about 75% organic potting soil in the bottom at a depth of about 1.5". I then set the eggs on that, close but not touching and as centered as possible in the container. I put another 2.5" of the same medium on top. None of it gets packed. I place a thin layer of sphagnum moss on top of that. Every few days I spray the moss. I leave the medium as loose as possible to allow for air infiltration and gas exchange. I've noticed that when digging up a nest of eggs outdoors there is always an air pocket in the nest above the eggs. I think this is purposely done by the female to allow for air & gas exchange. I can't duplicate that nest in the incubator so loose soil is the next best thing.

What amazed me the most about what i've been doing was that after receiving and reading the book "Naturalistic Keeping and Breeding of Hermann's Tortoises", by Wolfgang Wegehaupt I found out that he has been using nearly the same method to incubate his tortoises in captivity in Germany! The main variation between what I am doing and what he is doing is that he drills holes in the sides of his containers to allow for air flow. I cover mine with moss to retain some of the moisture and he leaves the tops of his as bare soil.

I also forgot mention that I replace the base of styrofoam egg incubators with the 18" square box that is commonly used to ship fish and reptiles. It is deeper than the standard incubator base which allows for the use of taller containers within. In past years when using "the old method" and shorter containers I could stack a couple of layers of containers by using the deeper base too.

 

[Tom]

I've often wondered about this, but due to my lack of experience with incubating I just went along with what everyone else does. Baaaa baaaaa. I feel like a dumb sheep now.

I will be trying this on the next batch of eggs I incubate. Do you use the soil type sphagnum moss on top or the long fibered type?

Thanks for the revelation GB.

AND congratulations to Danny! Can't wait to hear if they are fertile or not.

 

[GBtortoises]

The sphagnum moss that I use is stuff I pick locally in a bog so I guess it can be considered long fiber since it's not ground up. It usually has some "foreign" material in it that needs to be picked out, twigs, leaves, an occasional spring peeper frog! But other than that it's pretty clean stuff.