July 4th eggs

tortadise

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Well of course it's the 4th(I could honestly care less though) but big mama the Burmese brown dug her a neat the past few weeks and plopped out 37 eggs this morning. I know I know it's against forum etiquette to not post pics. But they will be up soon. Hope for some little guys to hatch and survive this year.
 

dmmj

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No fair on the no pics, but congratulations, here is hoping they are good ( Insert generic egg pun here).
 

Yvonne G

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I'm very interested to know what you do to conquer the damned gnats that accumulate on those eggs.


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tortadise

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Had to split them in two tubs like always. These eggs are massive as well. Larger than the Chaco eggs I posted in another thread. I'm doing a warmer batch the big tub and a cooler batch the small tub. I really don't care at this point what sex hatch out. I just want to hatch them. Been 4 years of eggs now and none have survived past a few days.
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tortadise

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I'm very interested to know what you do to conquer the damned gnats that accumulate on those eggs.


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I know Yvonne it's terrible. It's the single most damaging thing to Manouria eggs. I do have to say she has never laid this early ever. Always he lays in September-October. So I'more worried with I being summer the gnats being worse. But I was going to try and take some fresh cuttings of rosemary, lavender and spearmint branches and tape them to the top of the lid. Those plants deter Mosquitos, flies, and spiders so hopefully gnats too. Time will tell if it works this year.
 

N2TORTS

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WoW ..... very nice Kelly. 37!!!!
Holy mackerel .......that would be 12 female Redfoots! .......:p

Congrads my friend ......sounds like the 4th was Grand!

JD~
 

N2TORTS

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I'm very interested to know what you do to conquer the damned gnats that accumulate on those eggs.


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Consistent air flow....(with a wee bit of force)......the trick is finding the balance for humidity as not to dry out the eggs in the process
 

Yvonne G

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JD: The type of gnats we're talking about seem only to bother the Manouria eggs. I've had Manouria eggs, box turtle eggs, YF eggs and leopard eggs in the same incubator and the Manouria eggs were the only ones that were infested with gnat maggots.

Kelly: I know you probably have way more experience than I at hatching tortoise eggs, but I have had better luck with hatching the Manouria eggs if I allow them to touch each other in the medium. Don't ask me why. It's been trial and error for the past 15 years and I'm only now starting to see a bit of success.

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Turtlepete

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I know Yvonne it's terrible. It's the single most damaging thing to Manouria eggs. I do have to say she has never laid this early ever. Always he lays in September-October. So I'more worried with I being summer the gnats being worse. But I was going to try and take some fresh cuttings of rosemary, lavender and spearmint branches and tape them to the top of the lid. Those plants deter Mosquitos, flies, and spiders so hopefully gnats too. Time will tell if it works this year.

Have you ever tried the kind of dried bay leaves used in cooking? I heard someone using that for Manouria and it working, so just curious. Nice eggs and good luck with them!
 

Yvonne G

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Thank you so much, Pete, for that tip. I only hope I can still remember it next spring when I have eggs! Maybe I'd better write it down.

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Turtlepete

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Thank you so much, Pete, for that tip. I only hope I can still remember it next spring when I have eggs! Maybe I'd better write it down.

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I wouldn't put to much faith into it...The origin of that "tip" was supposedly from Vic Morgan (I assume you know who he is, big Manouria breeder in central Fl, majorly successful in breeding them as I understand), when he gave a talk at the Turtle and Tortoise club of Florida. A friend of mine was there when he gave the talk, and told me that he said he used bay leaves to combat those little black buggers that are known to kill the Manouria egs and neonate's. The thing is it's all secondhand information, so as I said, don't put an enormous amount of faith into it.
 

Yvonne G

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It sounds reasonable. Bay leaves are eucalyptus. And for years I have cut branches from the eucalyptus to hang in my aviaries to ward off bugs. It works.

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tortadise

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Yah know that does make sense. When I stumbled apon her she had 17 already out. And they take soooo long to lay them. With perfect positioning. Maybe I should reset them in a bucket burried all nested together. Never thought about that before.
JD: The type of gnats we're talking about seem only to bother the Manouria eggs. I've had Manouria eggs, box turtle eggs, YF eggs and leopard eggs in the same incubator and the Manouria eggs were the only ones that were infested with gnat maggots.

Kelly: I know you probably have way more experience than I at hatching tortoise eggs, but I have had better luck with hatching the Manouria eggs if I allow them to touch each other in the medium. Don't ask me why. It's been trial and error for the past 15 years and I'm only now starting to see a bit of success.

474158gy04azrh2x.gif
 
M

Maggie Cummings

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About the gnats...I don't hatch anything, but was reading on it the other day and marigolds, garlic, and cinnamon were suggested also...
 

dmmj

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Re: gnats on the eggs, have you ever tried burying them compltly , in the incubator, like they would be in the ground? That way, the gnats can't reach the eggs.
 

tortadise

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Re: gnats on the eggs, have you ever tried burying them compltly , in the incubator, like they would be in the ground? That way, the gnats can't reach the eggs.
Funny you mention that. I was literally talking about doing this a few hours ago with my mom. Place them in a 5 gallon bucket about middle of the bucket and completely buried in a mix of substrates. I think I may do this. It's way out of the ordinary. But these gnats as Yvonne stated are only interested in the Manouria eggs. Will drill through the eggs and deposit larvae and the maggots will eat the tortoise. They aren't an issue now either, but only when the little guys are in 3rd term and almost completely developed.
 

dmmj

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They lay in compost, usually right? They don't really dig holes if I remember right.
 

tortadise

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Yep. Leaf litter and mulch, dirt, debris the scrape up and build a mound, then dig it up in the middle lay and cover it back up. Usually about 18"-24" of cover over the eggs. In a very big area too. Usually my female will scrape the entire enclosure 14x24 and build the neat up and out. Most times I have to raise the hides because she mounds it to where they can get out. Really cool. They guard it for a few weeks to a month too.
 
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