Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my pancake egg just hatched in the last couple hours and the plastron is sort of folded up. everything else looks perfect. i was wondering if they come out of the egg sort of contorted and later flatten out or if this is a defect? ive never hatched a tortoise out so i have no idea if their plastron looks a little odd at first. thanks

In my russian book, it said that they came out folded up but straightened out after a few hours.

Take a small container like a deli cup our even a coffee cup and cover the bottom with flat paper towel. Moisten the paper towel just enough so the paper is wet but you don't see water. Place the tortoise on that in the incubator. The moisture keeps the shell plyable and the hard flat surface of the container helps flatten out the plastron. In a day or two you will have one good looking tortoise... and congrats on a neat event.

>>my pancake egg just hatched in the last couple hours and the plastron is sort of folded up. everything else looks perfect. i was wondering if they come out of the egg sort of contorted and later flatten out or if this is a defect? ive never hatched a tortoise out so i have no idea if their plastron looks a little odd at first. thanks
-----
Ed @ Tortoise Keepers
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care

Thanks. Its been two days now and the plastron is slowly flattening out. As long as this continues for another day or two, he should be a perfectly normal tortoise.

Congratulations on your new baby. The folded plastron is normal and will disappear in a few days with normal activity and growth.

I've heard they're born looking like a taco with legs.