Never thought I'd get eggs :,)

Wartortle

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I haven't posted on tortoise forum in a good while. Honestly, there isn't much to post once you get to a certain point. I've got two Russian males and two females. My larger male ~5" has been making his best attempts to mount my 7" female for the past two or three years now with no success. I decided early on to just let nature take its course. It would happen when it happens right?
Early this afternoon, I found my big female nesting for the first time. No one knows how old she is, so I've got no clue if this is really her first time or not. Super excited though. I've got the eggs in the incubator and I'm looking forward to the three month mark and my new babies!
Oh by the way, she laid 5 (FIVE) perfect, white, hard eggs.
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Tom

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Congrats on the eggs! :D

What media is that? Is it fine vermiculite? It looks too damp. Most people incubate russian eggs on dry media and keep high humidity in the incubation chamber through other means.

@Carol S
@GBtortoises
@HermanniChris
 

GBtortoises

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Even though it's been used for years as an incubation medium the problem with using vermiculite is that each little kernel is a tiny miniature sponge. It is either much to moist or much to dry. It's difficult to control the moisture level of it with any consistency. If too damp it can create mold to grow on where it comes in contact with the egg, especially on the bottom where there is the least amount of air exchange. If it is too dry it acts as a wick and draws moisture from the egg.
The humidity within the incubator should come from a source that is not in contact with the eggs. The air within should be at the correct humidity (and temperature). This allows for better, more even incubation conditions and doesn't put the eggs in danger of mold or desiccation because of an incorrect or unstable incubation medium.
If the humidity level and temperature within the incubator are correct and remain fairly almost anything can be used as an incubation medium. Whatever is used should allow for good air exchange around the egg. A very good example of this is poultry egg incubation. There is no incubation medium used with poultry eggs that are hatched in an incubator. They sit on wire racks or in plastic egg crates. As long as the temperature and humidity level is maintained correctly they hatch without issue.
I used vermiculite for years and despite many different methods never had nearly the hatch rate success that I have now. I currently use perlite but only to create a small depression to set the eggs into. I do not wet the medium and I don't partially bury the eggs. They just sit in a depression in the perlite about 1/3 the height of the egg in order to keep them from moving should I have to re-arrange containers within the incubator. I'm sure that there are other good, similar mediums that can be also be used. I like the perlite because it doesn't compact onto itself which allows for good air exchange around the egg. Since using it I have never seen a speck of mold on an egg and I have never had one dry out.
The key is to provide the humidity and temperatures within the incubator as a whole, not in the medium. I place a container of water with a sponge in it that acts as a wick to provide the humidity needed. It works very well. At 85-88 degrees the humidity stays within the 70-80% range. Another key element of maintaining stable incubation temperatures and humidity is where the incubator is placed. Most incubators used by individuals are small, simple and easily effected by their surrounding environment. So if the incubator is placed in a very dry room it is going to struggle to keep humidity within. If it is in an area that is more than 15 degrees cooler than the temperature that you're trying to maintain the heater in the incubator is going to be on constantly and still may not be able to maintain the correct temperatures. So incubator placement is as important as what's in the incubator.
 

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