All Turtles Message Board
All Turtles
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moxie
Level 2
Joined: 02 May 2003
Posts: 57
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 Posted: Mon May 22, 2006 10:08 am Post subject: Basking eggs? HELP! |
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Hello out there,
Like alot of you turt people, I found 4 eggs at the bottom of my turtles tank this morning. 2 were already bitten into by the turts and 2 were still intact. I carefully scooped them out and placed them in a sand filled childrens wadding pool that has a little water pond in it that I had set up for my turtle to lay her eggs in. HA! Well, I also have a basking lamp set up in there so I put the eggs in the sand under the light. I did wet the sand and covered the eggs over.
My question's are... am I hard boiling the eggs? Is this too much heat? What do I do at night? Should I move them again? HELP!!!!!
Thanks to all who read & answer.
Cheers,
Hermene 
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deesygirl
Moderator
Joined: 12 Sep 2002
Posts: 1232
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| Posted: Mon May 22, 2006 10:58 am Post subject: |
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The article on breeding has some very good information on this. Here is a quote from it.
| Quote: | After mating
I advise, that during pregnancy you keep the female away from the male so that she will not get disturbed so much. You shouldn’t handle her, except in times when it is extremely necessary. Make sure you keep the water very clean and give her enough space, a 75 gallon tank is enough for larger species. In smaller species of turtles, the tank should be at least 40 gallons. Heating is also very important as they will spend a lot of time basking to warm themselves and the eggs inside. You might notice a change in the appetite of the female, she might refuse to eat. This is normal, so don\'t stop continuing offering her food and consider a dietary change, she might feel inclined to eat certain things only. Make sure, especially during this time that you add vitamin and mineral supplements to her diet. You can buy supplements in the powder form and sprinkle it over her food. Calcium is very important to her diet during this time. Like many pregnant moms, she may have specific preferences at this time.
Laying the Eggs
I use masonry mixing tubs for my nesting quarters, like many other breeders. You can buy these at Home Depot for a fairly cheap price. They are 3 feet by 2 feet and can hold 8 inches of sand. I use just plain sand for the nesting substrate, the females aren’t too picky. Usually turtles dig their nests 6-8 inches down, so the masonry tubs work fine for this.
The average gestation period for a turtle is two months, but if she doesn\'t find a suitable place for laying her eggs, she will probably retain them inside. This causes much hassle and can very easily lead to death. During the last two weeks of her gestation, you will notice that she will spend more time on land, sniffing and digging around in order to find a proper place for laying her eggs. At this point, you need to put the female in the nesting area. Try to watch her as much as you can to see where she lays the eggs. She might lay from 2 to 20 eggs.
Removing the eggs
Leave the eggs for at least 48 hours in the nest because during this time the eggs become much more stronger. Make sure you carefully remove the eggs from the ground. If you accidently hit one, it will probably crack, sending eggs yolk on all the other eggs, which could cause an assortment of horrible things to the rest of them. This includes eggs fungus, which kills the eggs. When I get near the eggs I use a paint brush to lightly sweep the dirt away from the very delicate eggs. Carefully remove the eggs from the nest and place them in a the Incubation Container with a substrate of Vermiculite. Bury the eggs halfway in the substrate. NEVER TILT THE EGGS FROM THE ORIGINAL POSITION THE WERE LAID IN, IF YOU DO IT WILL KILL THE EGGS!!
Incubation
Buy an Incubator at a local farm supply store in your area. The ones used for bird eggs will work just fine. These cost around $40 at most places. Put the incubator in a room that has little or no traffic in it, so it won’t be disturbed. Next, make an Incubation Box out of a Glad container. Drill a few small holes into the lid for ventilation (no more than 1/4\" in diameter). Then, set up a bedding in the container of about 2 inches of vermiculite. Use the heavy grain rather then the fine one. Moisten the vermiculite evenly. Make sure it is kept damp but not wet. Now, put the Glad container (Incubation box) in the Incubator. Set the Incubator’s temperature right at 80 degrees. This temperature will give you a clutch that is a good, even ratio of males to females. DO NOT disturb the Incubation Box, or the area around it!! The eggs should be regularly inspected, and the vermiculture lightly sprayed with water to retain moisture.
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When the eggs are laid in the water they generally don't make it. One reason is because they are moved from their original possition and also because of the bacteria in the water seep into the shell and contaminate it.
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