"So, what are the chances this egg will hatch? Any signs I can look for to tell if'n it's viable?"


Box Turtle eggs just laid will not provide any evidence of life until eight to ten days have elasped. After which you want to look for a small red to pink ring with tiny blood vessels know as a blastula.

Being able to view it; confirms a developing egg.
As the embryo develops the shape and form of the boxie will become more apparent.
If trouble is occurring within the egg; initially there will be scattered blood spots throughout and a deep black color will take over. For a variety of reasons the development has stopped; sometimes they are due to genetic flaws. Not the fault of the breeder.

However there are certain precautions one must take to safely use this method for BOX TURTLES. These eggs are much more fragile than bird eggs which this method was used for.. Also box turtle eggs should not be turned from their original position. If not put back in the same position; their respiratory functions are impaired and the developing embryo or blastula will die. Disturbing the egg is also risky as your hand temperature can cause a severe thermal increase on one side of the egg which shocks the developing turtle. One other critical point; never touch an egg with bare hands(nitrate or latex gloves are great) as the oils from our hands can be absorbed in the porous egg shells and impede respiration.


In addition heat from a small flashlight will kill a developing blastula in less than a minute.

But “ candling” for box turtles can safely be done after ten days with the methods below.

You can use a Cool Candling lamp that has enough light to see through the egg with virtually NO HEAT. This can be done by either of two ways. Use a Brinsea Cool Egg- Lume developed for exotic birds. You can take the end of the cool light and put it directly on one side of the egg; without ever lifting or moving the egg. As previously stated after ten days a clear egg would be infertile, red or pink alive and growing. The lamp is small and sold at exotic bird supply houses for about $ 38.

There is another cheaper method using a tiny mag flashlight and one addition! Sporting goods stores and gun shops sell a snap on fiber optic tube that covers the end of the small flashlight. It comes in 90 degree angles which are ideal for our purpose. It concentrates the light through the fiber optic rod and emits a cool condensed light. The heat stays at the lightbulb end and the light is transmitted through the fiber optic rod as cool light. The 90 degree angle makes it a breeze to put the light close to the BOX TURTLE egg without moving it..or even touching it. You will see the same as described above. You can also check for further development and know precisely when the eggs are ready to hatch.The small fiber optic clip on; developed for seeing problems in gun bores is sold for about $3.00. If you are looking at dozens of eggs the first one is better. If you have a small number to view; the clip on version is an econmical choice.

P.S... It's neat to watch the boxie developing inside the egg and then see and raise the boxie afterward...

Ric

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