General Care Discussion :: Is there a way to tell if eggs are fertile?

[amyandandrew]

Hi guys!! I posted a week or so ago about our RES laying eggs, and how were incubating them. I was just curious to find out, is there a way that we can tell now if there is actually turtles growing inside the eggs, and if they're actually fertile?? I did do a google search, and read something about putting a flashlight up to the egg to see, but I wanted to ask on here to see if it was true??

Thanks!!

[Linus]

I'm assuming that you have a male as well?

[Diamondbacks4Life]

After a month or so the eggs should do something called "chalking" Its when all the calcium from the shell of the egg moves towards the center of the egg for the growing embryo. It will create a white band in the middle of the egg.

[sflemin2]

Thats cool! I didnt know that

[amyandandrew]

Yup! We have a female in with 2 males. One is a juvinile though. 99.9999% we know who the daddy is . Thank you Diamondbacks for life!! Journey laid her first batch on 5/18, so we should be able to see the white band. I'll check it out when my fiance gets home, don't wanna do it without him. Is it ok for me to pick up the eggs at this point? I just don't want to break them, etc. I know we have to pick them up the same way we have them in their incubation cage, etc.

[sflemin2]

I am not sure when you can pick them up but I know that you cant in the beginning because it will kill the babies. If they are fertile, what are going going to do with the babies? There is already too many RES without homes

[amyandandrew]

We'll be keeping a couple, and my mother is a teacher, so she will be bringing them to her school for the science department so they will be very well taken care of .

[Diamondbacks4Life]

Personally the best time to pick them up is usually first 24-48hours before any growth starts happening. After i reccomend never touching them after that. You may be as gentle as possiable and not turn the egg checking them out but still a chance you could kill them. Im almost possitive cause I handled the egg in the pic just to take that pic i killed that oneeven though i was gental as possiable. All the eggs hatched accept that one, it never grew after that. I wouldnt lift egg but you could see if that band has formed just as letting it lay.

[amyandandrew]

I got Andrew to pick up a couple from the first batch. I don't think there is anything in any of the eggs, but like I said he only picked up a couple. After that I got nervous, and just told him to let them be. This was her first batch that she laid on 5/18, so from the answers that I got on the first topic I posted, we should have eggs starting to hatch from this batch in about 3 weeks. I'm just going to let nature take its course from here on out, and just keep hoping for the best. If there is nothing from this first batch, she still has 2 others that I'm hoping we get something from . I'd honestly be excited if we only got 2-3 healthy babies out of the entire bunch . Would I like them all to hatch, heck ya, but I'd be happy with just a few right now .