Aldabra eggs help!

[Paviya]

Here are pictures that I just took today of the male (with a much smoother shell since we got him from an owner who could not take care of him) and female (whom we've had a little before I was born).

 

[Paviya]

And here are pictures of the incubator and eggs! Any comments will be helpful thanks!

 

[Yellow Turtle]

Wow congratulations! I hope all eggs hatch! Are they from the old clutch or new one?

I know nothing of tortoise breeding, so I will let the experts help you.

 

[Yvonne G]

Those eggs don't look good to me. How old are they?

 

[Paviya]

Thanks! we are very excited. Four of the eggs are more than a month old, we were unable to find them until digging for the two new eggs (laid jan 10). The eggs are brown from the super tightly packed dirt. I got rid of the excess dirt but should I clean them off completely?

We also have 18 more eggs in the incubator that are at 120 days now. Had a vet check them and she said that the eggs are not at the stage where they should be but are still developing so it should be fine. I hope they are!

 

[Baoh]

I applaud your implementation of a decent controller unit and the UPS backup. Your temp is low to me, though.

 

[Yvonne G]

Yes. That's a really nice incubator set up. What temp do you think it should be, Baoh? 86F?

 

[Paviya]

We have two incubators, the one in the picture set to 80f and the other is set to 86f. From what I've read the different temperatures determines the sex of the tortoise. If it is too low is it possible to increase the temperature at a later stage or what should I do?!

 

[Yellow Turtle]

Seeing your name and the letters on the incubator. Are you from Thailand?

 

[Paviya]

Yep, I'm from Thailand.

 

[Yellow Turtle]

Hi neighbor country men

 

[Baoh]

Yes. That's a really nice incubator set up. What temp do you think it should be, Baoh? 86F?

It depends on what one wants. Males? 82ish is where I set it for that. Females? 88-89ish for that. For a mix of both that also reduces the incidence of temperature-induced developmental/cosmetic defects, 86ish is a relatively safe choice. These numbers have some range to play in, of course.