Re: Hatchlings

Hi, Firstly you do need to remove the eggs from the water as soon as possible after they are layed. If they are in water too long even fertile eggs won’t develop. I’m not sure if you can incubate the eggs in room temperature but I use a Hovabator that I purchased at a feed store. It is for incubating chicken eggs but it works pretty well for most turtle/tortoise eggs. I place my eggs in a storage container (the new ones available at the store that can be thrown away are great) with equal amounts of perlite and water by weight. I bury the eggs halfway and put the lid on the container after I have poked several small holes in the lid. A good egg will start banding within the first 24-48 hours after it is layed. But this is not a hard and fast rule. It takes my eggs aproximately 56-58 days to hatch when I set my incubator at 86 degrees. I set it for females. Does your female act like she is trying to get out of her tank right before eggs appear? If she does you could take her out and put her in a container with about 5″ of potting soil and sand moistened so that she can dig a nest. Also you can try to feel for eggs by feeling just in front of her back legs in towards the middle of her body with you fingers very gently. If you feel them you can be on the watch for more being layed. Is she with a male? Hope this helps, Vickie