Can someone answer my teenagers question!

[Peach]

Good afternoon guys, my teenager has got interested in our 4 spur theigh tort eggs and is now doing a project at school about tortoises, and has asked a interesting question but I don't know the answer lol....

Do tortoise eggs get heavier if fertile if so will a infertile tortoise egg be light and have a huge weight difference?

I did reply saying I expect so but you don't weigh the eggs u leave them alone, but I did say I will ask you guys. Thanks in advance.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

In my limited and failed attempts to hatch out eggs, I can say that at least initially the eggs all weigh the same. It does, however make sense that an egg with a viable embryo would get heavier.
It is also VERY important that you not move the eggs after a day or two of being deposited because blood vessels and the embryo can be damaged quite easily by any further movement so weighing them later on or disturbing them in any way is not advisable.
Place an "X" on top of the egg and gently place it were it will remain until hatching. I also write the date. The x is the top orientation.
You can "candle" the eggs with a pin point flashlight to look for blood vessels and embryo development afterwards. But I would also limit the use of the bright light as well.
Good luck!

 

[Peach]

I have been able to tell her that once dug up you don't touch and mark the top of egg, also told her about the temps and humidity, I even had to explain the mating process which she found highly " disgusting and how could a female allow the male to do it" some of her questions are crazy, so if any of you guys can give any more info I can pass on to her I would be great full. This is what u get when a vet goes into school and explains there job to class and Chelsea replys " I have a 5 year old tortoise and 4 rescued spur theighs"

 

[ZEROPILOT]

You have them oriented correctly. They haven't been moved and they are warm and humid.
You have already gone as far as I have. Next I had rotten eggs exploding at 160 days and a stench that lasted a few days later.
I wish you luck.
I'm going to be outdone by a child.............

 

[Peach]

Oh I don't let her touch our 4, that would be dangerous, ours at day 90 and no sign of hatching yet I hold hope on 3 but not the 4th one. As he don't look to good so have separated him or her from the others in case, I thought after few weeks there explode if infertile as they go dark, dented and smelly, so I have just learnt something new myself

 

[ZEROPILOT]

My rotten eggs developed tiny cracks in them and they got dark. Signs I'll look for next time. Have you candled them with a small flashlight? One of those with the beam you can turn into a pin point? Actually touch it to the egg and the whole inside becomes visible.

 

[Yvonne G]

They not only get heavier, they swell the closer it gets to hatch.

 

[WithLisa]

They not only get heavier, they swell the closer it gets to hatch.

I've only had Hermanns eggs, but they didn't get heavier, they rather lost weight. Where does the additional weight come from, do you have to keep eggs of Greek tortoises moist (so they can absorb water)?

 

[Peach]

That's interesting to know Lisa thank you she can say that about the hermanns, she's doing all kinds of tortoises as the school have said its her interest so they want to know it all lol

 

[Tom]

My first question is about your avatar. You are asking about spur thighs, Testudo graeca, but it looks like a horsfield in your avatar. You have both species?

The weight of an egg will only change based on the water content. Damper incubation media and higher humidity will generally cause the egg to take on more water and weigh more. Horsfield eggs kept too damp will actually swell and crack open from absorbing too much water. Like wise drier incubation media and lower humidity can cause and egg to lose some moisture during the corse of incubation and then weigh less.

If water content stays the same, the weight of the egg should remain unchanged during incubation. The nutrients in the egg are simply converted into the various baby tortoise tissues. The weight should not change because of any of those processes.

 

[Peach]

I do I have a 5 year old horsefield she's my baby, but I rescued 4 spur theigh eggs from a old lady and at present have them in incubator, question isn't about my eggs lol it's about tortoise eggs in general of any kind.

 

[Tom]

I do I have a 5 year old horsefield she's my baby, but I rescued 4 spur theigh eggs from a old lady and at present have them in incubator, question isn't about my eggs lol it's about tortoise eggs in general of any kind.

Got it.

Here is my analogy: Suppose you left me locked in a large shipping container with a bunch of tools and constructions supplies. While locked inside the container, I build a nice tortoise box from the contraction materials. The weight of the shipping container wouldn't change, but the contents certainly transformed into something different.

 

[Peach]

Tom your a fantastic guy! I just told my daughter that and she fully understood what u was saying, thank you so much and to the rest of you thank you also u guys are the best ;-))

 

[thehowards]

Got it.

Here is my analogy: Suppose you left me locked in a large shipping container with a bunch of tools and constructions supplies. While locked inside the container, I build a nice tortoise box from the contraction materials. The weight of the shipping container wouldn't change, but the contents certainly transformed into something different.

This is what I figured it doesn't make sense for it to change weight without adding stuff from an outside source.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Would that be true?
I mean the cells duplicate and duplicate and the animal grows inside of the shell. The animal becomes physically larger. The cells multiply inside the egg without actually any thing else entering.
This is very interesting.

 

[WithLisa]

This is what I figured it doesn't make sense for it to change weight without adding stuff from an outside source.

There are outside sources, air and moisture. But the space inside the egg is limited and I guess the size of the air cell has to increase when the embryo is growing.

 

[Yvonne G]

But we DO add something. I spritz mine with water every couple days. And in my opinion, the size of the yolk does NOT decrease according to the size of the animal growing. The baby gets bigger than the yolk, and some babies still have quite a large yolk when the baby is almost grown. I have never weighed my eggs, but an egg almost ready to hatch "feels" heavier to me than a freshly laid egg.

 

[Yvonne G]

Darned kids and their questions! Now we have another debate.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I'll respect the collectives thoughts on the matter, but it does have my brain working.

 

[WithLisa]

in my opinion, the size of the yolk does NOT decrease according to the size of the animal growing.

But what about the egg white?

I have never weighed my eggs, but an egg almost ready to hatch "feels" heavier to me than a freshly laid egg.

I once compared chick, a dead chick and a plush chick with (almost) the same weight. The chick felt as light as a feather, the dead one felt normal and the plushie was way too heavy. Now I trust my scale more than my feelings.