A Detailed Guide to Turtle Egg Incubation Methods and Key Technical Points

Now many people are starting to farm turtles, and artificial turtle farming brings up the issue of incubation. So, how do you incubate turtle eggs? Let's find out together!

1. Making the incubation box

The incubation box is the box used to incubate turtle eggs, and when making it, special attention must be paid to breathability, which is the key to the incubation box.

1. Making the incubation box is very simple. First, find a box with a lid; it must have a lid, because only with a lid can the humidity inside the incubation box be maintained, and the lid is best if it is transparent.

2. Second, use a soldering iron to poke one small breathable hole in each of the four corners of the lid. That completes the incubation box. Note that you must not poke too many breathable holes; four is enough, otherwise the moisture-retaining effect will be greatly reduced.

2. Materials for incubating turtle eggs

1. Incubation materials

There are many kinds of materials for incubating turtle eggs. Soil, sand, and vermiculite can all be used, but in terms of maintaining humidity, vermiculite is the best choice, so it is recommended that you use vermiculite. Vermiculite can be bought from the market, and the price is not expensive.

2. Cleaning and disinfection

Wash the incubation material in water several times to ensure it is clean and free of contamination, put it in a microwave for high-temperature disinfection for 3-5 minutes, and finally soak the vermiculite in purified water for about 30 minutes.

3. Moisture control

Drain the water from the vermiculite. The vermiculite should not look wet, and it is enough that it can be squeezed into a ball without falling apart. This step is very important: if there is not enough water, the moisture-retaining time will be short; if it is too wet, it will cause the embryo to grow too quickly in a high-temperature, high-humidity environment. The embryo develops too large, the air inside the egg is filled up, and the embryo suffocates inside the egg. This is basically the cause of fertilized egg death in the later incubation stage, so this step must be done with extra care.

3. Arranging the incubation box

1. Thickness of the vermiculite

Put the drained vermiculite into the prepared incubation box. The thickness of the vermiculite should be about half to two-thirds of the box height, so that a small remaining space is left for placing the eggs. The bottom layer must not be too thick.

2. Placement of the thermometer

There is not much particularity in placing the thermometer. Just lay the thermometer flat on the incubation material, placed to one side.

3. Placement of the eggs

(1) Mark the laid eggs; mark which side of the egg faces up. This mark is made so that later, if the egg turns slightly during development or is turned over due to an accident, the egg can be restored to its original position without affecting embryonic development.

(2) Move the eggs out horizontally and place them on top of the vermiculite in the incubation box, fix the eggs in place, and cover with the lid. The arrangement of the incubation box is then complete.

4. Management during the incubation period

1. Methods for increasing humidity

(1) Add water to the vermiculite

After 2 months of incubation, the moisture in the vermiculite has mostly evaporated. At this time, you need to add water to the vermiculite. You can use a syringe to inject purified water into the vermiculite, or use a spray bottle to spray purified water onto the vermiculite.

(2) Replace the vermiculite

Make a new incubation box, replace it with new vermiculite, and then move the eggs into the new incubation box. Likewise, the vermiculite needs appropriate moisture.

Calculation of hatching time: the hatching time can be inferred according to the incubation temperature. Generally, eggs before hatching will have water droplets emerge. At this time, you should open the incubation box frequently, and as soon as a hatchling comes out, take it out, so as to prevent the hatchling from turning over other eggs in the incubation box and causing damage to other eggs and unnecessary losses.

5. Rearing and management of hatchlings

1. Because the humidity in the incubation box is relatively high, newly hatched young must be placed in an environment with relatively high humidity once they hatch, and only after the humidity slowly evaporates can they be moved. They cannot be placed directly into a relatively dry environment, otherwise the young will not adapt.

2. Generally, young turtles are not fed until after 3 days.

The above is an introduction to how to incubate turtle eggs.