Another Manouria emys hatching event!

[Berkeley]

Woo hoo! I was just closing up the barn for the night, and checked on my clutch of M. emys emys eggs I had incubating. I noticed that the substrate had been moved around, and there was an eggshell showing on the surface. Then I noticed a small, gray carapace halfway buried in the leaf litter and soil. There was a second baby that had completely emerged, then reburied itself in a corner. I excavated carefully and found a third baby immediately under the one whose shell I had seen, and then found a fourth not far from the main egg pile.

Here is their first pic, not even cleaned off and in the middle of a soak. I will be checking for more hatchlings over the next few days, now that the dam has broken (hopefully!).


I am just pumped, and I am sure that I will have some trouble falling asleep tonight!

Enjoy!
--Berkeley

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

amazing! what do you do with the babies?

 

[Berkeley]

I'm not going to count my chickens (tortoises?) before they hatch, but since the parents are part of a breeding loan from the Turtle Survival Alliance, half of the babies will go back to them. The remaining half I will probably hang on to and raise up a little bit, to make sure all are eating and growing, then I'll think about where they will be going.

--Berkeley

 

[Yvonne G]

Very exciting! So, you left the eggs in the nest? Or what?

 

[Jacqui]

So happy for you! They look wonderful. Nice to see somebody having a part in the TSA program.

 

[juli11]

Nice perfect animals with really nice shells

 

[Berkeley]

Thanks for the comments yall.

Yvonne, the eggs were dropped in the outdoor nest on August 1. Since we were still early enough in the summer at that point, I left them outdoors, in situ, until we had about a week straight of cool (high 60's) and rainy weather . (That was unseasonable, I had been expecting them to make it to hatching before the first cool days.) On Sept 15 I excavated and brought the eggs inside and set them up. They've just been sitting on a shelf in the barn since then. So it was a combination-style incubation. I wanted them to be incubated for as long as naturally possible before moving them. When I excavated, I used a temp gun and the reading was at 74 in the internal chamber.

Thanks Jacqui, juli11. I support TSA as much as I can, it is a great organization. And I am really pleased with how the scutes look so far, I think it has to do with the natural incubation, no big temperature spikes.

Hopefully I will have more updates over the next few days.
--Berkeley

 

[emysbreeder]

Congratulations Berkeley, This is always a thrill. Good luck and let us know the rest of the story. Vic

 

[Berkeley]

Thanks Vic! I sure will.
Nice pic, by the way. I would love to see the laying in action one day, I can never time it right. Seen it plenty with turtles, just never with the tortoises!

 

[Berkeley]

I've had 12 emerge so far. A few more have pipped, so we'll see how many continue to arrive.

 

[Jacqui]

Any yet with unique scutes (asked with great anticipation)?

 

[Berkeley]

Ha ha, Jacqui! Actually yes, the last one out last night had some unique scutes. Nothing too crazy, but it wasn't the typical layout. I'll see about a picture tonight or tomorrow for you. If I remember correctly from another thread or two, you like those scute anomalies, right?
--Berkeley

 

[Jacqui]

Yes, I love the special ones.

 

[emysbreeder]

Both ssp have always laid in the afternoon for me. Sometimes two or three at the same time. Look for the area around the eyes to be wet. The tortoise will be parked looking outward from nest if in a corner. The closer they are and when laying they are in a trance. If you see the back legs with feet moving inward they are covering up. You can get close and take pics or watch and it wont bother them if in the trance. If it looks like the hole is filled to the top you can make a small depression in the ground and move her to it and she will continue to lay the rest with out the damaged eggs you get if they over fill. Sometimes they make the hole , sit for a wile then do a "do over" and cover and re- arrange. Its quite a show. Vic

 

[emysbreeder]

I'm not going to count my chickens (tortoises?) before they hatch, but since the parents are part of a breeding loan from the Turtle Survival Alliance, half of the babies will go back to them. The remaining half I will probably hang on to and raise up a little bit, to make sure all are eating and growing, then I'll think about where they will be going.

--Berkeley

 

[emysbreeder]

The TSA will set them up in an "Assurance colony" where they will live out their life in glorious splendor. Their a IRS 501C3 tax exempt org. so you wont have to worry about them selling them for less than wholesale. code word "adopt". gargled words in black silhouette

 

[Berkeley]

An update:
The majority of the eggs have hatched, there are still 6 left that still look viable. Here are a couple of pictures of some siblings as they break out of the shells:


They are all strong and healthy looking, and the older ones have begun eating....well, actually plowing through the food I have offered.

These guys are so freaking cute, it hurts. Enjoy!
--Berkeley

 

[bouaboua]

Congrats!!!!!

 

[Irwin4530]

Wow!! That never gets old!

 

[Berkeley]

Thanks guys! And you are correct, Irwin4530, it never gets old!

--Berkeley