Egg fertility question

[Neal]

Alright, so I'm new to the whole incubating egg process. With my box turtles I just left them in the ground and didn't really pay much attention to them.

My female leopard laid her fourth clutch sunday to bring the grand total for her first season to 28 eggs! From everything I have been told, if they "chalk up" They are definatley fertile, correct?

Also I have been told infertile eggs either explode or start to stink after awhile, I was wondering how long it typically takes for that to happen?

So far I have 15 eggs that have "chalked up". It's pretty exciting!

 

[armandoarturo]

Congratulations on the eggs!
In my experience with desert tortoises:
Im incubating a clutch of 8 eggs, they have been incubating for almost 90 days, and infertile eggs haven't exploded yet.
I figure that this kind of eggs (DT) take longer to explode because of the hard shell, and low humidity.
Im not quite sure about leopard, but someone will give you a good answer.
Also, the most important factor its to be patient... don't get impatient and start moving them around and checking them...
If they chalk up, it means that they are fertile, but that doesn't means that the embryo will make it for sure, it depends on many things! (humidity, temperature, etc.)
one of mines chalked up and something happened in the process and it looks like if the embryo just stopped developing.
good luck!!

 

[egyptiandan]

Infertile eggs don't always explode, but they do start smelling after a normal (for the tortoise species) term of incubation. Though most of the time you have to pick up the egg and put it right up to your nose and sniff to tell if it's not good.

Danny

 

[Tom]

I couldn't see much of anything in my last batch of eggs for most of the incubation time. About a week before hatching I tried to candle them again and three of them were totally opaque. You know how that ended up.

I've heard of eggs going two or three times longer than term and still hatching. That's why people say just leave them alone until they rot or blow up.

And yes, it IS exciting!