Should my eggs be chalked if I just retrieved them?

Fizzle

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My female buried her eggs in the yard and I was unable to retrieve them until a few weeks later. I read one of @Tom messages stating that you can leave them in the ground for a long time and then recover them later for incubation. They’ve been in my incubator since last Saturday 08/04/18. I’ve done this before and have been very successful with the process. I have never had to wait a few weeks before recovering the eggs though. My question is, should they already be chalking because they were laid around 3/4 weeks ago now? Or do they start the chalking process after you’ve begun incubation? Thank you for any replies. Appreciate it.
 

Tom

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What species?

In general, yes, they should be chalking after all that time in the ground with summer temps outside.
 

Fizzle

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Tom! You’re awesome, thank you for such a quick response. They are desert tortoises. The eggs are a faint white color like they might be chalking but I just can’t tell... maybe I’m just trying to get my hopes up. It will be probably around 4 weeks this weekend and I’m guessing they should be chalked over by now. Oh well, I’m still going to leave them in there as long as possible. I’m afraid they just might not be fertile.
 

Yvonne G

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I feel I must comment, just in case you, and everyone else reading is unaware - according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, it is illegal to knowingly breed desert tortoises. It is also illegal to artificial incubate the eggs.

Only reason I mention this is because one of our "Guidelines" is to refrain from discussing any illegal activities.
 

Fizzle

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Thank you Yvonne. I assure you my activities and discussion here are 100% legal.
 
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