Incubating a highly calcified egg

[Baoh]

Found a highly calcified egg today. Likely from a particular female Sulcata het Ivory that has been digging a lot of test nests and exhibiting related behavior. She has likely sneaked a nest or two by me this year (I have two areas of suspicion). It could also be another species, but that is somewhat less likely. Maybe giant YF.

Anyway, the female has obviously held this one for too long and I have oxytocin coming to me this week just in case.

I have placed this one in the incubator just in case. I doubt it is viable, but I know better than to discard it prematurely.

I have concerns regarding a hatchling's ability to exit the shell in this situation and am considering something like filing or calcium dissolution to make emergence less difficult.

Have any of you successfully incubated highly calcified eggs?

 

[dmmj]

I know people have helped some hatchlings "escape" from their eggs, by slowly peeling some egg pieces away

 

[Yvonne G]

I was reading about incubation on another forum and Danny (egyptiandan), one of our experts here, said he didn't have luck hatching the highly calcified eggs. I have two right now in the incubator from a YF tortoise. We'll see in a month or so what happens to them.

 

[Baoh]

I know people have helped some hatchlings "escape" from their eggs, by slowly peeling some egg pieces away

Yes. The timing can be tricky for that. Too early, death. Too late, death.

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I was reading about incubation on another forum and Danny (egyptiandan), one of our experts here, said he didn't have luck hatching the highly calcified eggs. I have two right now in the incubator from a YF tortoise. We'll see in a month or so what happens to them.

Yeah, I cannot remember reading of a successful case, but I will still try. I hope your luck is positive. How long have your been incubating now? At what temperature? I am going for female with this one due to possible Ivory status as well as the higher temperature allowing me to find out viability more quickly.

 

[Baoh]

I have read these average 40mm. This one is 50.1mm in diameter. Interesting. It would be nice if it were fertile, despite the low probability.

 

[Yvonne G]

They've been cooking for 60 days now, at about 87 degrees. It may be a bit high, but the last batch of YF I brooded were males, and I was trying for females.

 

[dmmj]

maybe the calcified eggs, have to thick of a skin, not allowing them to breathe and grow?

 

[Baoh]

They've been cooking for 60 days now, at about 87 degrees. It may be a bit high, but the last batch of YF I brooded were males, and I was trying for females.

I do not consider 87 especially high. I go for 89-90 for female chelonians and male leopard geckos. I use 81-82 for male chelonians and female leopard geckos.

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maybe the calcified eggs, have to thick of a skin, not allowing them to breathe and grow?

That is a serious concern for me. This would be even more important as the embryo grows and gas exchange demands increase. I will likely address this in a bit because I do not think there is a way around it while leaving it as it is.