Hi all

I have a few questions.

When a female lay's her egg's i was told that you remove the egg's and put them in a dry/dark place for a week BEFORE putting them in the incubator. Is this true or would you just put them straight in?

Also its 30c and MUST make sure the eggs do not move from orignal direction aka which way they are facing?

Thank you for any replies

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(12-31-2008 09:26 PM)AdamSoS Wrote:  Hi all

I have a few questions.

When a female lay's her egg's i was told that you remove the egg's and put them in a dry/dark place for a week BEFORE putting them in the incubator. Is this true or would you just put them straight in?

Also its 30c and MUST make sure the eggs do not move from orignal direction aka which way they are facing?

Thank you for any replies

hi i have been hatching tortoise eggs for the last 20 years and have never done this ,in fact when the eggs are first laid they are less likely to be disturbed while setting them in the incubator so it is safer to do this as soon as possible.some species of tortoise egg are reputed to require a diapause before they start to develop but normally it is not neccessary .what species of tortoise are your eggs from.
terry

Thanks for the reply

They are " hermann " tortoices and i have a Octagon 10 incubator.

20 Years? thats fantastic, i really hope i can progress with hatching egg's.

(01-01-2009 11:09 AM)AdamSoS Wrote:  Thanks for the reply

They are " hermann " tortoices and i have a Octagon 10 incubator.

20 Years? thats fantastic, i really hope i can progress with hatching egg's.

hi congratulations ,hermans are lovely characters i have a few of these myself.smaller/younger females eggs can be a little smaller than the older females so i would be cautious with your incubation temperatures if the females are young.if these are your first eggs then i would set temps at 30c to 31c and dont let them rise any higher your humidity i think 75% certainly no lower than 70 particularly if the eggs are from a young female.set them in vermiculite this is a good sterile medium and i have had no problems with its use.i dont have an octagon myself if this is not the type that turns the eggs or is fan assisted you should have no problems.i open my incubator for a few seconds daily just to stop the air from becoming stagnant.expect hatchlings at around 60days.
terry

Indeed the Incubator does not turn or have a fan as i read that they must not move from the angle as to wish they were laid?

I have the vermiculite ready. I will try take some photo's of my little friends for others to see. Is there a section on tips on how to do this?

Was tempted to contact a ZOO in the UK to see if they could offer any advice till i found some usefull infomation on here. Just really dont want to mess anything up.

With my male/female i feed every 2 days and always ensure they have fresh clean water. They live inside in a verium.. grr aka Tank ( sorry spelling ). Which has a UV light and day light.

I also bath them once a fortnight which they seem to enjoy..wish my cat felt the same way!

If i was succesfull with hatching the egg's i intend to keep them

Thanks for your help.. its really apperiated and im sorry if you have been asked the same questions im asking amillion times hehe

any questions feel free to ask, i will do my best to help.
terry

Thanks

Ill try get a few out quickly

I use as there " bedding " these type of pellet's they also tend to eat.. same sort of stuff that the Safari hands out for you to feed there animals, ill try find the precise name!

But i also see screen shot's of tortoices living on soil/rocky enviroments,what do you have yours in?

With how i stated i look after mine in the above post. Do you see any thing ovious that i lack doing?

My female's beak seem's a bit long which is the only negative i found with my pair so checking her diet is ok.

Also do you weigh your tortices to ensure there the correct weight?

Sorry to ask a million and one questions

(01-01-2009 06:02 PM)AdamSoS Wrote:  Thanks

Ill try get a few out quickly

I use as there " bedding " these type of pellet's they also tend to eat.. same sort of stuff that the Safari hands out for you to feed there animals, ill try find the precise name!

But i also see screen shot's of tortoices living on soil/rocky enviroments,what do you have yours in?

With how i stated i look after mine in the above post. Do you see any thing ovious that i lack doing?

My female's beak seem's a bit long which is the only negative i found with my pair so checking her diet is ok.

Also do you weigh your tortices to ensure there the correct weight?

Sorry to ask a million and one questions

hi my adult meds all live outdoors and are in hibernation this time of year any smaller ones that are still up at the start and end of the winter live in open topped pens indoors and as they are under heatlamps are bathed every 2nd day to prevent dehydration.i actually keep mine on dry substrate and feed them on a concrete slab or tile ,i find this helps to keep the beak worn down during the winter when they are unable to graze daily.
terry

Very intersting infomation.
I will do the same with the bathing as i wasnt doing so as frequent as that.

I dont suppose you have a name for the bedding you use on the indoor pens? Thanks again !

(01-01-2009 06:34 PM)AdamSoS Wrote:  Very intersting infomation.
I will do the same with the bathing as i wasnt doing so as frequent as that.

I dont suppose you have a name for the bedding you use on the indoor pens? Thanks again !

hi what i use is called Flax it is horse bedding very similar to aspen or hemp it is dust free and dry.although soil is the ideal ,i find it is hard to keep from getting dusty unless you have a good depth ,so i opted for Flax it suits my situation .the only thing is you must bath them regular and supply a water source 24/7 so they arent dehydrated.
terry