Around 2 days ago I go to check the incubator’s humidity when I notice one of my eggs is hatching. I waited for the hatchling to fully hatch and put it in a separate container for brooding. I’m waiting for the other 9 eggs to hatch but I notice how by now my eggs would start piping. I want to know why this one was soo early when tortoise fetuses communicate in eggs so they hatch on time.
Why do one or 2 always hatch earlier
- Thread starter Riley ann
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I recently asked this same question. I have a clutch that was put into the incubator at 86-89F degrees on 11/9/17. I had just about given up hope they were going to hatch. But then 8 of them hatched between 4/3 and 4/10, one on 4/11 and 1 on 4/15. The rest of the clutch still looks good, but no pipping, and it's now been almost two 2 weeks since the first ones hatched and five months since I put them into the incubator..
I didn't receive any good answers to my question - seems no one really knows why this happens. What I have since figured out is that the insulation factor of the styrofoam incubators isn't as good as we think it is, and because my house is pretty darned cold (too lazy to build a fire in the wood stove), the temp inside the incubator must drop below the set temp, causing the embryos to slow down in their growing.
Some of my clutches laid by the same mother all hatch on the same day, and some of them take several weeks for all of them to hatch. If I knew why, I would certainly try to fix it.
I didn't receive any good answers to my question - seems no one really knows why this happens. What I have since figured out is that the insulation factor of the styrofoam incubators isn't as good as we think it is, and because my house is pretty darned cold (too lazy to build a fire in the wood stove), the temp inside the incubator must drop below the set temp, causing the embryos to slow down in their growing.
Some of my clutches laid by the same mother all hatch on the same day, and some of them take several weeks for all of them to hatch. If I knew why, I would certainly try to fix it.
I live in a location where it doesn’t really ever get cold but it is very baffling how unpredictable reptile incubation can be
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I think it has to do with the age of the eggs in the body of the female before being deposited. Say for instance that a female has 10 eggs in the ovaries and she only ends up depositing 8 (for whatever reason). And the next clutch she ends up depositing those two “older” eggs with other “younger eggs” then MAYBE those older two eggs develop sooner or faster than the younger eggs.
It’s just a theory but nearly every clutch I have from every female has this same phenomena. I’ve had eggs hatch 2 months before their clutchmates. And also times where 1 or 2 eggs take 6-9 months to hatch when the other eggs may have only taken 4-5.
It’s interesting and I would love to know exactly what causes it
It’s just a theory but nearly every clutch I have from every female has this same phenomena. I’ve had eggs hatch 2 months before their clutchmates. And also times where 1 or 2 eggs take 6-9 months to hatch when the other eggs may have only taken 4-5.
It’s interesting and I would love to know exactly what causes it
Interesting. Makes sense.
That is by far the best theory I’ve read or heard of
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