turtle eggs

[Bartman]

i just bought a turtle (painted) for 10 bucks and anyways i came upstairs yesterday and there was eggs! i was going crazy and i didnt know what to do so i called my local pet store and they told me i need to put them in an incubator and i did exactly what they said but now i just wanted to know if first, do you guys think they will lay, they were pink and im pretty sure thats a good sign. and second is incubating them the right thing to do? thanks and please give me tips on anything i should do to make sure these eggs survive. thanks every1!

[hoshal]

I'm no expert on incubator constuction. but I'll tell you what works for me!!

1. I use tall styro coolers( canadian tire or hard ware store )
2. stack 2 regular bricks in the bottom
3. fill with water untill there is about half an inch of brick left
4. I use high a quality submersable aquarium heater
5. set the temp a few degrees higher then what you want the air temp to be
6. I put my eggs in dampend vermiculite, almost dry!! in little rubermaids with 6 tiny air holes in the tops.
7. make sure the temp is where you want it
8. I also open the lids up every other day to let fresh air in.


I am not a pro but this method has hatched hundreds of eggs for me, so I hope it can help you out too.

[Bartman]

open the rubbermade top open right?
i am using a 10 gallon tank withthe exact same idea as what you just said but i put a towel ontop of the tank to try and keep in the air and there is warm water and the heater thing and a rock holding the rubbermade out of the water...could you use peetmoss instead of vermiculite?

[hoshal]

I don't see why you can't use peatmoss, as long as it dosen't dry out. I open the rubermaids to let in fresh air for the eggs. If you notice the peatmoss is drying out there isn't enough humid in the tank, just raise the water temp abit. I think the towel might absorb alot of the humidity on you.

All the best, Jeff

[Bartman]

ok thanks a lot

[Bartman]

I have had the eggs in the incubator for about a week now but all the five eggs are getting a hard outer shell and there is one that is not...does this mean its no fertile or does it mean its the only fertile one?

thanks

[eyespy]

Originally posted by hoshal
I don't see why you can't use peatmoss, as long as it dosen't dry out. I open the rubermaids to let in fresh air for the eggs. If you notice the peatmoss is drying out there isn't enough humid in the tank, just raise the water temp abit. I think the towel might absorb alot of the humidity on you.

All the best, Jeff

It depends on the species as to whether peat will work, for animals that come from foresty areas it works fine, but it's too acidic for animals that come from a dry climate. For a painted it should probably be okay.

I prefer to keep lids closed so that if the eggs should go bad the bacteria from one rotting egg won't spoil the other trays in the incubator so easily. Of course, if you only have one clutch in there it's a moot point.

[Bartman]

lol...whats a moot point

[Bartman]

is there suppossed to be a lot of percipitation on the side of the tank and all over the rubbermaid?