# Candling eggs in various stages + hatching



## Testudo Man

For many years I would just wait and see, when it came to fertility/hatching time, but last year I decided to candle the tort eggs in various stages of development...

My photos tell the story...T.T.8)

Better start with the egg laying 1st...









14 days incubation









21 days









28 days









35 days


----------



## Testudo Man

42 days









61 days









And on the 64th day









Completely out the egg...T.T.8)


----------



## corns are cool

:no1:wow very intreasting mate congrts on the eggs:no1:


----------



## BlueRoses

Can I just say thank you for that. I found that fascinating! And those last 2 pics awwwwwww :flrt:


----------



## rachy

What a difference a few days makes!!
Very very interesting , thanks for posting them


----------



## bennett

:flrt::flrt:


----------



## Salamanda

beautiful :no1:


----------



## DaveM

awwwww, they're so cute


----------



## Toonami

Can you use any light or do you have to use a special light to do candling. has it got to be done in a particular way, or is it just a case of shinning a light on the egg. will be interesting to see what my corn eggs look like

Thanks
Natalie


----------



## Testudo Man

Toonami said:


> Can you use any light or do you have to use a special light to do candling. has it got to be done in a particular way, or is it just a case of shinning a light on the egg. will be interesting to see what my corn eggs look like
> 
> Thanks
> Natalie


Thanks for all the comments guys...

The torch I used was not the best for the job :blush:, I think you ought to use a smaller torch. As long as you candle the eggs in the dark, and shine the torch close to the egg, moving around to get the best view...T.T.8)


----------



## blue-saphire

thats amazing seeing how they develop, ive never seen that before. THANKS:2thumb:


----------



## Asian_Water_Dragon

Great pictures, we've brought a little touch to check ours.

Like you say its just getting the best angle


----------



## Tina

Great post Paul, really interesting to see the eggs at different stages of development... and what a gorgeous end result :flrt:

I can't wait to experience breeding my own torts but it'll be a good few years away yet. 

Good luck with this years egg laying and hatching.


----------



## Testudo Man

Tina said:


> Great post Paul, really interesting to see the eggs at different stages of development... and what a gorgeous end result :flrt:
> 
> I can't wait to experience breeding my own torts but it'll be a good few years away yet.
> 
> Good luck with this years egg laying and hatching.


Cheers Tina...Thats the thing with torts, it generally takes years for any type of breeding/hatchling success. Its certainly worth the wait though, as you no doubt will experience for yourself, in the years to come.

As for this season, because of the cool/wet spring we have had, there is no sign of eggs just yet. However, a couple of my adult females are showing signs of early fretting :whistling2:...T.T.8)


----------



## terrypin

excellent post Paul thanks for shareing i do try but cant seem to get a good picture of my eggs,i know what you mean about late eggs this year it didnt look like i would see any ,then all of a sudden its started ,so im sure you will get a result soon.good luck for this year and may all your eggs be fertile.
terry


----------



## Testudo Man

terrypin said:


> excellent post Paul thanks for shareing i do try but cant seem to get a good picture of my eggs,i know what you mean about late eggs this year it didnt look like i would see any ,then all of a sudden its started ,so im sure you will get a result soon.good luck for this year and may all your eggs be fertile.
> terry


Cheers...May all your eggs also be fertile too terry : victory:...

Well my hunch for eggs being laid was not far off :whistling2:...

A clutch of eggs from one of my Ibera's was laid on the 9th, and a clutch from one of my Hermanns was laid on the 10th :2thumb:...T.T.8)


----------



## Esarosa

Fantastic thread


----------



## fantapants

so whats the variation on incubation times on various species? i know as a general rule of thumb the meds are quicker cooking than the tropicals. but just how big is the difference? on one of your pics the egg is just a few weeks old but there is an obvious shadow and some light veining. On a redfoot or a leopard tortoise how much longer would it be to the same stage? its a fascinating topic and such good pictures too!


----------



## Testudo Man

tinkerbruce said:


> so whats the variation on incubation times on various species? i know as a general rule of thumb the meds are quicker cooking than the tropicals. but just how big is the difference? on one of your pics the egg is just a few weeks old but there is an obvious shadow and some light veining. On a redfoot or a leopard tortoise how much longer would it be to the same stage? its a fascinating topic and such good pictures too!


Cheers for the comments about the pics...

Incubation temperature has a lot to do with incubation time. As I only keep Hermanns, Tgi and Tgg, I can say that at approx. 30 Degrees C. (With slight temp. variations on the 30 Degrees C.) because of egg positions in my incubator, It seems that Hermanns tend to hatch 1st (anywhere from 55 days upwards) then Tgi and tgg would hatch from 60 days upwards.
There could be a week to 10 days from the 1st to last egg hatching from any given clutch too.
I could be a lot more precise with figures, if I consulted my incubation notes over the years:blush:.

I do believe that horsfields hatching time, is similar to that of Hermanns, and with redfoots, it could be between 120 to 170 days, again its all down to temps.

You should contact the redfoot breeders on here, with their incubation experiences- *Darren and Sarah*.

As for the leopards, that would be *Terry and Ed*...cheers...T.T.8)


----------



## MoreliaUK

Great thread. Thanks.


----------



## manicmaz

That is so cool, and they are so cute! I've just had two baby beardies hatch this week and what a great feeling!


----------

