Mountain tortoise egg incubation

rte123

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Nov 10, 2013
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This is a question that I would like to address to Burmese MT owners/breeders. My female gifted us with her third yearly clutch of eggs, twenty-nine total, all looking normal at the start. I had two Little Giant incubators, without fans, set up for about two months prior with stable temps (85-86 degrees) and humidity (about 85%). No eggs were viable the previous two years, so I have tried to be meticulous in my set-up this year. i used vermiculite, moistened according to recommendations described repeatedly in this forum. It was placed in plastic "shoe box" type containers, leaving the lids loosely fitted. In past years, I have tried tightly place lids with holes in the sides. Within the first week, several eggs began to collapse. Shortly after, I began to see mold starting. Both of these conditions were familiar from previous years. I still have a few normal-looking eggs. I separated the moldy eggs from the others and wiped miconazole powder lightly onto them. We are now at day 17. More than half the eggs are in some stage of collapse and i have thrown out several that were severely collapsed. Does anyone have suggestions? Too humid? Then why the collapsing? Or, too dry? Then why the mold?
 

Kapidolo Farms

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I completely bury them in hatchrite. That has worked for me. Based on @ColaCarbonaria picture of Vic's incubators they can rest half buried. Kelly Hull buries them in soil, but with a breathable gravel layer below.

I would guess the eggs are not fertile.
 

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