X-Ray showing very long Redfoot eggs !

[Geochelone_Carbonaria]

Hi,
it seems like one of my females has been ready to lay her eggs for a couple of weeks now, so I brought her along to the horse clinic since we should go there anyway, and asked them to take an X-Ray of her. Wot you think this is ?

 

[bikerchicspain]

The eggs could be still in a stage of developing.
Has she tried nesting yet?
The eggs could change shape, although I am not to familiar with red foot eggs,

I would just wait and see what happens when she lays them.

Cool x-ray

 

[jackrat]

Redfoot eggs are generally round,but not always.I have a female that lays slightly elongated eggs.Please post some pics after thay are laid.

 

[LindaF]

cool picture

 

[Madkins007]

Red-foot eggs are generally not quite round. usually rounder than that, but from what I have seen on-line, that looks within the normal ranges.

Nice to see you back.

 

[Laura]

whats all the other stuff? rocks?

 

[Geochelone_Carbonaria]

Thanks Mark !

The vet thought it could be rocks, and it might be that, but I think it's small pieces of cuttlebone that hasn't been digested yet ? My RF's does not have rocks in the terrarium, so in that case they have to be quite old...

Anyway, she actually layed her eggs a couple of days ago, so if they really hatch, the hatchlings will look quite funny the first couple of days before they "stretch out" ?

All the eggs are about 2 inches long and the weight is between 43-47 grams. So the weight is quite normal. Here they are :

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I was thinking those other things were not rocks but hard urates. Actually urate rocks, I guess. Awesome eggs tho...

 

[Geochelone_Carbonaria]

I was thinking those other things were not rocks but hard urates. Actually urate rocks, I guess. Awesome eggs tho...

Well you could be right, no doubts.

I've had this female only for about a year, and she has obviously had a hard life suffering from quite severe pyramiding her first years. But from her carapace, one can see that she has had a better life at least the last five years or so...

Otherwise, she looks like a happy tort and seems to be very healthy ?

 

[jackrat]

Red-foot eggs are generally not quite round. usually rounder than that, but from what I have seen on-line, that looks within the normal ranges.

Nice to see you back.

Not trying to be snarky here,Mark,but I beg to differ with your discounting what I said .All of my redfoots' eggs are round,ever so slightly flattened on the bottom and top.Here is a picture taken inside one of the incubators.

Here are some more.If you look in the bottom right,you will see two elongated eggs from my little Venuzuelan female.

I'm not saying everyone's redfoot eggs look like this.I can only speak from what I see with mine.Please post some pics of your eggs,I'd love to see what other folks' eggs look like.

 

[dmarcus]

I don't know much about eggs, but the pics are very cool especially the x-ray...

 

[Laura]

so is mikes a venuzuelan tort then>>??

 

[jackrat]

I don't think the locality has any bearing on the egg shape.In my case,this is a young tort.She was wild caught,in my possession for about 4 months when she laid these.They were a little grainey on the ends,indicating she had been holding them for a while.

 

[cdmay]

Red foot eggs are 'roundish'-- but never perfectly round. Younger or smaller females will typically lay eggs that are more elongated and even peanut shaped. Eggs that come from larger clutches are often elongated as well. Here are some examples of fairly big clutches...

Sometimes you get big bunches of really big eggs and here again they will vary in shape...

Even badly deformed eggs may be fertile and hatch too...

 

[jackrat]

Thanks Carl! I'm always interested to see others' eggs.That one clutch was certainly elongated! I was thinking age had something to do with it,it my case.Thanks for confirming it.Pictures,Mark?

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Interesting!

 

[Geochelone_Carbonaria]

so is mikes a venuzuelan tort then>>??

No they are not...

The "Dad" is the one I use as my avatar, and he is a WC Cherryhead from Brazil. He's actually a bit elongated himself, with split scutes, but as far as I know that has nothing to do with how the eggs look like that the female produce. Correct me if I'm wrong please ?

And "Mum" is also a Cherryhead, don't you agree ?

Here she is :

 

[bikerchicspain]

Oh so cute, of the tort coming out of the shell, shame the hands in the pic..LOL only messing.

Iive got another 2 or 3 weeks till mine hatch if i didn't cook them, Hope they are ok.
Oh well live and learn.

In the Xray you can see clearly that those small pieces are in the intestine so it could just be bits or urates.

Good Luck

 

[cdmay]

And "Mum" is also a Cherryhead, don't you agree ?


Yes, 'Mum' is a cherryhead too. And you were right in that the shape of the male (who we would love to see more photos of!) has no bearing on the shape of the eggs.

 

[Geochelone_Carbonaria]

Of course she's a Cherryhead, I was kidding "cdmay" !

Well "Here's Johnny" !

No I don't call him that, his name is actually "Scar", and my absolute favourite among this RF family. Sorry for the pictures of him "in action". I could not find any better ones where I am at the moment...

And for you readers out there, this is Mum and Dad to the elongated eggs that started this thread, and I call them "Mimmi" and "Scar".