Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,

I have leopard tortoise eggs in an incubator set at 87F. It is a little shy of being in the incubator for 3 months. I got home from work today and found the incubator off!! The surge protector was off...power must have went. The temp in the incubator was at 70 degrees. A 17 degree difference!!

I dont know how long it has been off. Im assuming 8 hours.
What does this mean? Are the eggs worthless? Will they still hatch? Will it affect there well being?

Any help is greatly appreciated.
-Jen

Welcome to our nightmare! This happens to everyone at some point. It feels like a punch in the stomic to find eggs to cold or to hot. Just get the temp back and hope for the best. I've had EVERYTHING happen and in the end everything was ok. But make no mistake about it, you will loose sleep! Then when the little critter hatches out and someone try's to talk you down in price just say "NO", you try to do it"! Vic.......pic ....maybe this will make you feel better. I killed a clutch of these fooling around with the temps.to improve on the last years hatch rate! AHHHHHH!..NEVER GIVE UP.

Thank you for the support and encouragement. I was a mess yesterday just thinking bout the poor little guys. I started questioning whether or not I should have just left the eggs in the ground, let nature take its course. "If my mama tortoise only knew..." echoed in my mind. Sad face.

It's a relief knowing I am not alone on this one...and at the same time disheartening that others like yourself have been in the same situation. Thanks again for responding. Any further advice you could pass on regarding the incubation process would be greatly appreciated.

I love the picture!! How long have you been breeding your tortoise(s)?

Forever powerless to machines, electricity and the ever growing curiosity of animals.
-Jen

A long time! The clutch I was talking about was the 2nd.time and I only got a few the first time and was trying to improve. Well it cost me, there was next year but it wasnt easy to shrug-it-off. Third times a charm!.....and the 4th...10th...20th..you usely learn from your mistakes if you pay attention. Other people here may know more about your species eggs and might have some way to see if their still alive or what might happen. Dont toss them out until they fail the smell test. Test goes as follows ,put noise on egg ,inhale viggeressly, if it dosnt knock you down, keep'em ! Try R.Fife (google) he's a good guy and has a book out on them. Vic

Hi Jen,
Just turn it back on and keep incubating the eggs. They should be able to keep on developing as long as the temperature didn't get really cold. A researcher I know placed temperature recording devices in wild Radiated Tortoise nests in Madagascar and found that the average temperatures in those nests was only 72F, yet we incubate the Radiated eggs successfully at 89F in our incubators. If we incubate them at that low a temperature artificially they don't even seem to develop. I can't explain it, but that is what happens.

Anyway your eggs should be OK (if they were fertile to begin with). Were they fertile eggs or do you know?

Bill Z

My female tort has a male companion...so I'm assuming the eggs are fertile. Fingers crossed.

Hi, I have no clue. My inclination is to say this could happen in the wild but who knows. Please let us know what happens!!!

Carole
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www.reptilecare.com

temperature fluctuates in the wild, so don't throw any out until they start to stink. Hope they hatch!