# Herman’s Tortoise hatchling advice



## CJ86

Hi, my female Herman’s (22) has surprised us by producing 2 fertile eggs out of 3 laid. She has laid many times before but either they weren’t fertile or my incubation efforts weren’t good enough. Can anyone point me in the direction of a step by step guide for dummies please? There seems to be a lot of conflicting advice on Google. I need to know everything from how long to leave in the incubator after hatching, suitable housing, diet etc. we will most likely be away when they hatch (heartbroken I might miss it!) so I want to leave a step by step foolproof guide for the person housesitting. Many thanks in advance


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## purplepixie

CJ86 said:


> Hi, my female Herman’s (22) has surprised us by producing 2 fertile eggs out of 3 laid. She has laid many times before but either they weren’t fertile or my incubation efforts weren’t good enough. Can anyone point me in the direction of a step by step guide for dummies please? There seems to be a lot of conflicting advice on Google. I need to know everything from how long to leave in the incubator after hatching, suitable housing, diet etc. we will most likely be away when they hatch (heartbroken I might miss it!) so I want to leave a step by step foolproof guide for the person housesitting. Many thanks in advance


Depending on what temps you are using to how long they incubate. I used to incubate at around 32c as this mainly produced female hatchlings. And took around 60 daysish. The lower the temp the longer the incubation. Once the hatchling is free from the shell, I used to leave them a day (usually they dug down in the substrate the eggs are in) before putting them into their own enclosure I weighed and bathed them. Once in their own enclosure, they mostly slept (which is scary as you want them to eat, but they will still be surviving on what was left of the egg sac) but you can always put in a dandy leaf or the like, as some will eat straight away, others can take up to a week to eat. Hope this is of some help.


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## CJ86

Thank you so much for your reply, that is very helpful. Is there any danger to the unhatched eggs by leaving the new hatchling in for a day? Amazingly she laid 6 more in her outdoor enclosure this morning. I accidentally broke 2 digging them up, they were right at the surface, I was expecting a deeper nest like the last one  but we now have 4 new eggs joining the others. It’s a small home made incubator so no room for a second tub. Also it’s not covered, is there a danger the hatchlings could fall out? Sorry for so many questions, I really wasn’t expecting any success!


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## purplepixie

CJ86 said:


> Thank you so much for your reply, that is very helpful. Is there any danger to the unhatched eggs by leaving the new hatchling in for a day? Amazingly she laid 6 more in her outdoor enclosure this morning. I accidentally broke 2 digging them up, they were right at the surface, I was expecting a deeper nest like the last one  but we now have 4 new eggs joining the others. It’s a small home made incubator so no room for a second tub. Also it’s not covered, is there a danger the hatchlings could fall out? Sorry for so many questions, I really wasn’t expecting any success!


No problem leaving hatchling in an incubator for a day.
A picture of the incubator would help understand more if possible. When a tortoise hatches it is quite often still a roundish shape, so can be wobbly. They soon flatten out:0) Hard to say if they would climb out, without knowing how deep the dish is. Mine never had a lid on the eggs, and was homemade incubator. But was made from a large polystyrene box (the type tropical fish are transported in) so was quite large, and I could put several pots of eggs in. Its all a learning curve, but exciting:0)


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## SueBoyle

CJ86 said:


> Hi, my female Herman’s (22) has surprised us by producing 2 fertile eggs out of 3 laid. She has laid many times before but either they weren’t fertile or my incubation efforts weren’t good enough. Can anyone point me in the direction of a step by step guide for dummies please? There seems to be a lot of conflicting advice on Google. I need to know everything from how long to leave in the incubator after hatching, suitable housing, diet etc. we will most likely be away when they hatch (heartbroken I might miss it!) so I want to leave a step by step foolproof guide for the person housesitting. Many thanks in advance


Hermanni boettgeri eggs take from 54 days onwards to hatch at 32-34c. Remember to keep humidity up too as that is important to replicate underground conditions. Leave the eggs to hatch naturally after pipping, it can be a matter of a few mins to a couple of days. Have a hatchling set up ready for hatching, replicating the wild as closely as possible, so deep soil, plenty of hiding places such as rocks and driftwood and again pay attention to humidity. Only offer tiny amounts of natural food and make sure a shallow dish of water is available at all times. Yes there is a risk of them falling out of container and for that reason you need to place the tray of eggs onto a wire grill to prevent the babies coming into contact with the heat mat which would burn and dehydrate very quickly. This is how I have kept mine since the early 80’s www.tortsmad.com Good luck.


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## CJ86

I’m worried now that the eggs have stopped developing 😢 looks to me like the embryo keeps getting smaller and the white space keeps getting bigger. Is there any hope left? Temp sits at between 31.5-32 and humidity a little high at 85 but can’t seem to get it any lower


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## SueBoyle

How many holes do you have on the top of your incubator? This what allows for humidity. If humidity is low then you block some of the holes to raise it. Without air entry anoxia and death of embryos can occur. They need more oxygen as they grow bigger. One thing worth noting is that it’s said that constant candling increases the risk of ‘dead in shell’ babies. I don’t do this as it wouldn’t happen in nature and doesn’t help in any way other than to satisfy the curiosity.
Hope this helps.


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## CJ86

Thank you for replying. There are several holes around the sides and one on the top. I have been candling them once a week but haven’t moved them just held the torch to the side. I’ve just ordered a proper incubator in the hope that I can save the newer eggs. Do you think we’ve lost the egg in the previous photo?


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## SueBoyle

I’d say ‘never say never’ and leave them until they look bad or they explode, after 3 months or so. I don’t candle, as bright light entering an egg is far from natural, so I just leave well alone. Just add less water to the incubator to try to reduce humidity a little or increase air holes on the top. Only time will tell, but I only used home made incubators when I was breeding them except for one hovabator which failed after a couple of years anyway lol


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## CJ86

Update: the egg isn’t just alive after all, it’s hatching!


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## purplepixie

CJ86 said:


> Update: the egg isn’t just alive after all, it’s hatching!



Well done you:0) Now the fun begins.


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## CJ86

Thanks. I’ve moved him into his own pot with some damp kitchen roll and back into the incubator. He doesn’t seem to be in any hurry to leave his egg


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## SueBoyle

CJ86 said:


> Update: the egg isn’t just alive after all, it’s hatching!


Lovely, what looked like the lighter area getting bigger will have been the gap between the shell and the membrane 😊


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## SueBoyle

He/she will be fine. Head is exposed so he can breathe, just keep up humidity as you are doing. Well done 👍🏻


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## CJ86

Thank you for all the advice, I’m so relieved. Typically I left for holiday this morning so going to miss all the fun! but have some great house/tortoise sitters


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## SueBoyle

Always the case isn’t it🙄 Sounds like the story of my life. Just remember at this point humidity and hydration are more important than food. Have a good holiday 😊


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## CJ86

Thank you, I’ve left instructions to keep him in the incubator in his kitchen roll nest until he’s fully out and absorbed the yolk sac then move to the tortoise table and daily baths. I hope that’s right


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## purplepixie

CJ86 said:


> Thank you, I’ve left instructions to keep him in the incubator in his kitchen roll nest until he’s fully out and absorbed the yolk sac then move to the tortoise table and daily baths. I hope that’s right


The hatchling might not eat for a while as they have absorbed the egg sac, and can live on that for a while. Some will eat straight away others not. Hydration is the most important thing once out of the shell:0)


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## SueBoyle

CJ86 said:


> Thank you, I’ve left instructions to keep him in the incubator in his kitchen roll nest until he’s fully out and absorbed the yolk sac then move to the tortoise table and daily baths. I hope that’s right


Yes, just be sure the kitchen roll is wet at all times 😉


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## CJ86

Update : he/she is successful out and looks perfect! Took around 4 days to fully hatch then Didn’t eat for around 5 days but took her first bites of food yesterday! Yolk sac was already gone when she finally hatched. Thank you all for your advice


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## SueBoyle

Beautiful 😍


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## ian14

Brilliant news!


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## CJ86

Me again! After some more advice!
The little hatchling (now named Roly since she kept flipping herself over!) doesn’t seem to be eating after all after the one occasion when she seemed to be showing interest. She started to hatch 2 weeks ago now so I’m getting worried. I arrived home late last night from our holiday. Gave her a bath this morning then put her by some fresh Kale, she just walked though it and buried herself in a corner where she has stayed all day. Is there anything I can do to get her to eat? She is in a tortoise table with a heat lamp at one end that is set to stay on for 8 hours a day. Photo of her table attached. She did have a house but kept flipping herself on it and have put stones in the water since she flipped herself in there too. She isn’t eating in the photo, had just put her next to the food.


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## SueBoyle

When they are so young they are still rounded and so apt to tip up. Make sure the substrate is deep enough to dig under completely and the lamp is not over stones, which would get hot and cause dehydration. Hydration is still far more important than food, so be sure the substrate is damp in places. In the wild babies wouldn’t be bathing but relying on deep soil to stay hydrated. Try offering natural weeds such as dandelion, clover, sowthistle, nipplewort and mallows, both leaves and flowers. None of my hermanni eat kale and it’s especially tough for a little ones beak. 
If the little one is staying buried in one place then consider checking heat and light levels. If your tortoise sitter has been trying to bring the little one out of hiding, changing things around a lot etc then this will also cause it to hide away as they would in nature. Wild hatchlings move very little for the first weeks, concentrating on avoiding predators first and foremost.


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## purplepixie

CJ86 said:


> Me again! After some more advice!
> The little hatchling (now named Roly since she kept flipping herself over!) doesn’t seem to be eating after all after the one occasion when she seemed to be showing interest. She started to hatch 2 weeks ago now so I’m getting worried. I arrived home late last night from our holiday. Gave her a bath this morning then put her by some fresh Kale, she just walked though it and buried herself in a corner where she has stayed all day. Is there anything I can do to get her to eat? She is in a tortoise table with a heat lamp at one end that is set to stay on for 8 hours a day. Photo of her table attached. She did have a house but kept flipping herself on it and have put stones in the water since she flipped herself in there too. She isn’t eating in the photo, had just put her next to the food.



I would turn the heat off at the moment around midday for a couple of hours or more as temps are really high outside, this affects the temps inside too. If they are too hot they dont generally eat, they hide away to escape them temps. We all worry about them eating, but they can go a long time without food, but water is vital more than food. Weeds and flowers are the best you can do for the hatchling. Once we are out of the heat wave then go back to normal with temps. If you watch them you can learn a lot from them too:0) As Sue has said, when they first hatch they are roundish so this causes them to turn over easily. As soon as they flatten out it will lessen.
Just try to think with your head and not your heart when it comes to feeding:0) They are different to humans, they dont need food every day, especially in the heat:0)


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## CJ86

Thank you! That worked and she’s eating again 😁


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## purplepixie

CJ86 said:


> Thank you! That worked and she’s eating again 😁


 Thats good, they can be little devils when it comes to eating:0)


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## CJ86

Hi, we have a second egg hatching! But I’m a little concerned that it’s just his/her leg showing. Will he/she suffocate with her head still inside? I’ve moved her egg into a pot with some wet kitchen roll and put it back into the incubator for now


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## purplepixie

CJ86 said:


> Hi, we have a second egg hatching! But I’m a little concerned that it’s just his/her leg showing. Will he/she suffocate with her head still inside? I’ve moved her egg into a pot with some wet kitchen roll and put it back into the incubator for now



You have done the right thing, as the hatchling might well be still absorbing the egg sac. They also take rests when trying to come out of the shell. Just keep monitoring:0)


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## CJ86

Thank you, I’m mainly worried about suffocation. Her little leg seems to be working hard but no sign of her head yet


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## purplepixie

CJ86 said:


> Thank you, I’m mainly worried about suffocation. Her little leg seems to be working hard but no sign of her head yet


I have been there and its scary:0) But they can take their time. I have in the past removed some of the shell, but this is your choice. And can cause damage to the hatchling if not done with care. But this has shown to me, the hatchling had an egg sac not fully absorbed. So I put it back in the incubator. So its down to you and your choice. :0)


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