Help My Russian Tortoise Laid an egg. I am A beginner

[Madiha Humbal]

Help. My Russian tortoise laid an egg today. My son accidentally dropped her while taking her out of her enclosure for her morning walk. And then an hour later, there she was with an egg.
We live in a small house in Karachi, Pakistan. We do not have a garden, just a hard floor garage, where we have an enclosure setup for our two tortoises. It have alot of substrate and the enclosure is made out of wood.
The tortoises have been living together for 5 years now. And this is their first egg.
I noticed it is a bit cracked, since it was laid on my garage floor.
Will it survive? I mean hatch? Or is it useless now. Also. We do not have tortoise specialist vets or incubators available here. What should I do???
I have attached some pictures of the egg. I also need to know if she may lay more eggs or is she done with just one. I have placed the egg in a box with some garden soil to keep it safe for now. Help is much need. Please.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Hello!
First of all, you need to know if your tortoise are both females or male and a female. Female tortoises sometimes lay infertile eggs (obviously, nothing will hatch out of it).

If there is a chance, that an egg is fertile - stop rotating it. It should be always kept in the same position (mark the egg top with a pencil while it's in the box). There is a short period after egg laying when you can turn it, so there is a little chance for it to survive.

However, I know very little about hatching eggs. @Tom or @Yvonne G can help you more.

 

[Madiha Humbal]

I think one is male and the other one is female, because since last fall. Like late in October they have started having sex. I hadn't seen this behaviour in the last 5 years they have been together. And the egg is kept safe in the box. And I won't let anyone move it's position. Let's see what happens.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Here is a good guide on incubating tortoise eggs: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-incubate-eggs-and-start-hatchlings.124266/

I believe you can use an incubator meant for chicken eggs if you follow this method.

Russian tortoises don't do well in pars, here is why you should separate them: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/w...together-a-lesson-learned-the-hard-way.94114/

Also, this is a post you should read as a new member: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/info-for-new-people-please-read-this-first.202363/

 

[TammyJ]

Welcome to the forum and good luck with your tortoises. If the egg is fertile, and you have it in the right conditions of incubation, it may hatch ok at the end of the incubation period. She may lay more.

 

[Tortlord]

Yea, it’s best to start simulating the natural environment via immersing the tortoise egg in dirt. And Keep it in a warm area that’s safe and cozy

 

[Tortlord]

Incubators might work too, if you have one use it.

 

[Madiha Humbal]

We do not have incubators here. But yes I have put it in a box full of dirt. But I need to know the optimal temperature for incubation. And incubation time please. So I can try and create an environment for the egg. Thanks

 

[Tom]

We do not have incubators here. But yes I have put it in a box full of dirt. But I need to know the optimal temperature for incubation. And incubation time please. So I can try and create an environment for the egg. Thanks

You can make your own incubator. Look on YouTube. A fish tank or a drink cooler with an aquarium heater immersed in water will work. Put the egg in a plastic tub of some sort and set the tub on a brick or something in your incubator.

Keep the media dry. Set the temp to around 86 degrees (30C). Eggs with a dimple like that can still hatch. It should take about 60 days. No need to rush. The egg will be fine at room temp for a few weeks if needed while you set up, test, and adjust your incubation chamber.

Does anyone have chickens where you are? How about horses? They usually sell incubators at stores that sell horse and chicken supplies.

Separate your adults. They should never live in pairs. Female will mount other females and males will mount other males. It is sometimes dominance and territoriality, not sexual.