WHY THEY NO HATCH?

russian/sulcata/tortoise

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i have 1 female russian and 1 male russian. during the winter the male lives in the sulcata cage right now(i think its to cold for a sulcata to be outside) and the female lives in in the normal russian cage. they live together on cold days and at night time. during the summer one gets half of the day in the outside russian cage while the other stays inside for half the day, then i switch them. the female lays so many eggs, but they never hatch:(. the temps are at 86 and the humidity is at 66 when i incubate the eggs. is there something up with the male? why do you think they don't hatch?
 

Tom

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Spring and fall are the most common times for mating. How much day time do they spend together during those seasons? I'm sure you've seen mounting, but have you seen actual copulation? You have to get down on your knees and really look under there to see if its actually happening.

What is the length and weight of your male? Age?

What incubation media? How do you maintain that 66% humidity?

I'm sure you know the difference, but lets see a pic of the male's tail and anal scutes, just to eliminate his gender being misidentified as a possibility. Please don't be insulted. I don't mean it that way at all, but lets cover all the bases. Eggs are great, but I would so much rather see 20 new russian babies running around. Lets see if we can figure it out.

@biochemnerd808
@kameya
@68merc
@Carol S
@TortoiseRN
@lynnedit

Any ideas? More questions?

Any other successful breeders care to chime in? Lets solve the mystery and get these eggs hatching!
 

biochemnerd808

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It could be that the male or the female are just too young or too small. The female may be ready, so she's laying eggs, but the male may still be shooting blanks. Or possibly, the male is mature, but the female might still be a little young, so her eggs aren't fertile.

Also, as Tom mentioned, you might see the tortoises humping, but no actual mating may occur. Without being too indelicate, have you seen actual penetration by the male? It's not just about the male getting his tail in the right place, but his male parts actually have to get inside the female in order to fertilize her... sometimes the male is still too small or too clumsy for this to happen.

It might not be anything you are doing - it might just be the tortoises. This year my female Timmy laid 6 eggs, and all hatched. Mila laid her first egg, and it hatched. Lady laid 4 eggs, 2 of which hatched, 1 of which died a few weeks into egg development, and 1 of which was not fertile. And Amber laid eggs for the first time, but all 4 were not fertilized. Just be patient, keep on doing your best with care etc... sometimes being moved around a lot can be stressful, so maybe you can provide them with a somewhat more permanent outdoor set-up?

Spring and fall are the most common times for mating. How much day time do they spend together during those seasons? I'm sure you've seen mounting, but have you seen actual copulation? You have to get down on your knees and really look under there to see if its actually happening.

What is the length and weight of your male? Age?

What incubation media? How do you maintain that 66% humidity?

I'm sure you know the difference, but lets see a pic of the male's tail and anal scutes, just to eliminate his gender being misidentified as a possibility. Please don't be insulted. I don't mean it that way at all, but lets cover all the bases. Eggs are great, but I would so much rather see 20 new russian babies running around. Lets see if we can figure it out.

@biochemnerd808
@kameya
@68merc
@Carol S
@TortoiseRN
@lynnedit

Any ideas? More questions?

Any other successful breeders care to chime in? Lets solve the mystery and get these eggs hatching!
 

russian/sulcata/tortoise

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i put them in around 8-10 at night and and put them out around 7 in the morning, i see them mate some times on the days when its to cold to put them out. the male has never flashed me, i see them mating but i have never actual observed to see what actually happens down there:confused:. i maintain the humidity with putting water in little bowls in the cage. the male is around 5 inches i think, i got him at petco so i don't know exact age. i will look what type of incubator i have. i will try to get pics soon.
 

russian/sulcata/tortoise

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5 Year Member
Joined
Aug 6, 2014
Messages
8,458
Location (City and/or State)
Northern California, bay area
It could be that the male or the female are just too young or too small. The female may be ready, so she's laying eggs, but the male may still be shooting blanks. Or possibly, the male is mature, but the female might still be a little young, so her eggs aren't fertile.

Also, as Tom mentioned, you might see the tortoises humping, but no actual mating may occur. Without being too indelicate, have you seen actual penetration by the male? It's not just about the male getting his tail in the right place, but his male parts actually have to get inside the female in order to fertilize her... sometimes the male is still too small or too clumsy for this to happen.

It might not be anything you are doing - it might just be the tortoises. This year my female Timmy laid 6 eggs, and all hatched. Mila laid her first egg, and it hatched. Lady laid 4 eggs, 2 of which hatched, 1 of which died a few weeks into egg development, and 1 of which was not fertile. And Amber laid eggs for the first time, but all 4 were not fertilized. Just be patient, keep on doing your best with care etc... sometimes being moved around a lot can be stressful, so maybe you can provide them with a somewhat more permanent outdoor set-up?
i have had the female for 10 years and i have had the male for 3 or 4 years.
 
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