critique my eggs, please (Now incl. pipping and popping)

[ZEROPILOT]

Those were buried at least 8 inches deep and I would have never found them if I hadn't known that they were there.
There MUST be other eggs out there buried in places I did not get to.
The others were maybe four inches at most.

 

[Momof4]

Good luck!
I'm finding nest too but I just left them. I do check for babies before I step inside or clean.

 

[Anyfoot]

Yep. Four more eggs. Tiny again.
See how small they are in a chicken egg container?
I'm now about certain that the same 7 year old female deposited all 18 eggs in clutches of 3 to 5 eggs. Weeks apart.
That would explain why 4 of them are so dark and different. They might be the oldest.
The new 4 are in the incubator....

They look big enough to me. Out of the 5 laying females I have, only 1 has produced fertile eggs up to now. These fertile eggs are the smallest of the lot.
Can you measure one please. I'm curious to see what your are thinking is too small.

Has anyone out there noticed that the Brazilian eggs tend to be more of an ovel shape, not round like my northerns. Both my Brazilians lay ovel shaped eggs. Maybe it's just a coincidence.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

They look big enough to me. Out of the 5 laying females I have, only 1 has produced fertile eggs up to now. These fertile eggs are the smallest of the lot.
Can you measure one please. I'm curious to see what your are thinking is too small.

Has anyone out there noticed that the Brazilian eggs tend to be more of an ovel shape, not round like my northerns. Both my Brazilians lay ovel shaped eggs. Maybe it's just a coincidence.

I'll bring home a caliper this evening and i'll measure them in inches and in Millimeters.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

These are pretty round eggs.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Good luck!
I'm finding nest too but I just left them. I do check for babies before I step inside or clean.

It will be interesting to see if any are successful on their own.
I'm actually thinking about getting my males into a separate pen. I have no plan for babies.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

They are all a similar size.
This is the narrow part..
33 mm is pretty small.
Too small?

 

[Anyfoot]

Just checked mine that I have from the female that is laying fertile eggs, I have 17 of her eggs in the incubator ranging from 36mm to 38mm.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Just checked mine that I have from the female that is laying fertile eggs, I have 17 of her eggs in the incubator ranging from 36mm to 38mm.

Thanks.
Sounds promising. I just can't wrap my head around how tiny they would need to be to come out of an egg that is 33 mm.

 

[Anyfoot]

Thanks.
Sounds promising. I just can't wrap my head around how tiny they would need to be to come out of an egg that is 33 mm.

Huh. I was same. Amazing stuff. Mine have all been around 20/21g in weight.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I just came home from work with new soil and plants. I dug in my trowel and CRACK Found six new eggs. One split in half. Two badly gouged. But 3 intact. One of these is 39mm!

 

[Anyfoot]

I just came home from work with new soil and plants. I dug in my trowel and CRACK Found six new eggs. One split in half. Two badly gouged. But 3 intact. One of these is 39mm!

Good news Ed, There getting bigger.

Last week I pushed the trowel into my substrate to see how compact it was, pure fluke I uncovered a clutch of 9.
Today I just found another clutch of 8 too. God knows who they belong too. Both clutches sneaked into the incubator without dawn knowing. Hee hee hee.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Good news Ed, There getting bigger.

Last week I pushed the trowel into my substrate to see how compact it was, pure fluke I uncovered a clutch of 9.
Today I just found another clutch of 8 too. God knows who they belong too. Both clutches sneaked into the incubator without dawn knowing. Hee hee hee.

I'll need to start another thread soon.
If even one of them hatch I'll need to set up another tank. I have the tank and another strip UVB. Damp paper towels?

 

[theguy67]

This is an interesting thread.

Have you ever had any eggs to chalk?

Also, how do most search for nests?

 

[MPRC]

This is an interesting thread.

Have you ever had any eggs to chalk?

Also, how do most search for nests?

From what I can tell Reds like to nest exactly where people want to dig for new plants.

 

[theguy67]

From what I can tell Reds like to nest exactly where people want to dig for new plants.

Ha, good news for the gardener. I've thought about improving the soil quality of a few nest sites, such as adding peatmoss, sand, and
mulch/organic potting mix to the existing soil and see if they can be "trained" to use primarily these specific areas to help make finding eggs easier. Perhaps if I can map out where they frequently lay, I can adjust the enclosure to increase predictability? Throw in a security camera and finding eggs should be far easier. Of course, this depends on the species. Redfoots seem to be easier to manipulate, maybe? As they prefer loose substrate and low shrubbery. BUT as foliage expands, their behaviors may change....

@ZEROPILOT - I have 3 redfoot eggs in the incubator right now, laid January 1st. I honestly don't understand much about tortoise eggs. Other reptiles seem simpler- perhaps because eggs are easier to find, giving you more to work with. They seem very unpredictable with everyone reporting different experiences. There are some commonalities (like chalking, incubation duration, etc.-even those aren't consistent), but its almost like this is something that has to be experienced to be understood.

 

[Anyfoot]

I'll need to start another thread soon.
If even one of them hatch I'll need to set up another tank. I have the tank and another strip UVB. Damp paper towels?

I have everything crossed for you.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

This is an interesting thread.

Have you ever had any eggs to chalk?

Also, how do most search for nests?

No visible chalking. Or it's very gradual and minimal.
I find them (OR HAVEN'T!) in a few ways. Either observing a female digging or hanging around an area or by looking at areas that seem disturbed. I have red mulch on the ground and sometimes I can see that it has been dug up. Or an area that I have found eggs in previously. Such as inside of a broken very large pot and under a big construction pipe.
All of the 21 that I now have (27 found) have been found in the shade.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Ha, good news for the gardener. I've thought about improving the soil quality of a few nest sites, such as adding peatmoss, sand, and
mulch/organic potting mix to the existing soil and see if they can be "trained" to use primarily these specific areas to help make finding eggs easier. Perhaps if I can map out where they frequently lay, I can adjust the enclosure to increase predictability? Throw in a security camera and finding eggs should be far easier. Of course, this depends on the species. Redfoots seem to be easier to manipulate, maybe? As they prefer loose substrate and low shrubbery. BUT as foliage expands, their behaviors may change....

@ZEROPILOT - I have 3 redfoot eggs in the incubator right now, laid January 1st. I honestly don't understand much about tortoise eggs. Other reptiles seem simpler- perhaps because eggs are easier to find, giving you more to work with. They seem very unpredictable with everyone reporting different experiences. There are some commonalities (like chalking, incubation duration, etc.-even those aren't consistent), but its almost like this is something that has to be experienced to be understood.

I'm actually learning as I go.
They are warm and they are humid..................

 

[Anyfoot]

No visible chalking. Or it's very gradual and minimal.
I find them (OR HAVEN'T!) in a few ways. Either observing a female digging or hanging around an area or by looking at areas that seem disturbed. I have red mulch on the ground and sometimes I can see that it has been dug up. Or an area that I have found eggs in previously. Such as inside of a broken very large pot and under a big construction pipe.
All of the 21 that I now have (27 found) have been found in the shade.

I find it amazing how well they put the substrate and mulch back. The eggs I accidentally found last week we're totally hidden. Top soil back then the mulch(orchid bark and Cyprus mulch) back on the top layer absolutely perfect.
Also Ed. Have you watched them dig the nest closely. They test the nest with there feet constantly. Are they checking for depth,nest size,warmth, humidity or making sure there is nothing hard that will break the eggs.
Do they know instinctively howmany eggs they are about to lay for nest size?