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What to do when turtle egg hatching rates are low? Technical measures to improve the hatching rate

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It is well known that turtles are highly resilient, rarely suffer from disease, and are easy to raise and manage, but this applies to adult turtles. Throughout the entire process of raising turtles, carelessness in certain steps and details is unacceptable; turtle egg incubation is a highly technical step, and if done poorly it will fail. 1. Scientifically breed parent turtles. Selecting good stock is the primary condition for improving the hatching rate of turtle eggs. Parent turtles should be large, robust, free of injuries or deformities, and of suitable age. Female turtles should be at least 6 years old, with wrinkled and slightly hard leathery skin along the rear edge; male turtles should be 3 to 4 years old. The stocking density should be 7 turtles per sq m,

It is well known that turtles are highly resilient, rarely suffer from disease, and are easy to raise and manage, but this applies to adult turtles. Throughout the entire process of @#@238@#@, carelessness in certain steps and details is unacceptable; turtle egg incubation is a highly technical step, and if done poorly it will fail.

1. Scientifically breed parent turtles. Selecting good stock is the primary condition for improving the hatching rate of turtle eggs. Parent turtles should be large, robust, free of injuries or deformities, and of suitable age. Female turtles should be at least 6 years old, with wrinkled and slightly hard leathery skin along the rear edge; male turtles should be 3 to 4 years old. The stocking density should be 7 turtles per sq m, with a female-to-male ratio of 3:1.

2. Pay attention to the timing of egg collection. The embryo of a turtle egg is only fixed 8 to 30 hours after the egg is laid, so egg collection should preferably be done after 3 p.m. During hot seasons with heavy rainstorms, collect the eggs in advance.

3. Carefully examine the fertilized eggs. A well-developed fertilized egg has a white spot on top of the shell, with a clear and smooth edge, and the egg is bright in color, appearing pink or white. If no white spot can be seen on top of the shell and the color is basically uniform, it is an unfertilized egg. If the white spot on top of the shell appears as a large, irregular white patch, it is a poorly developed egg. Neither of these two types of eggs can be placed in the box for incubation.

4. Use pine wood to make the incubation box. There are many materials for making an incubation box, but pine wood is preferred; poplar or willow wood must absolutely not be used. The sand bed in the incubation box must maintain a certain humidity. Poplar and willow wood, once damp, very easily grow white mold hyphae, and these hyphae penetrate among the sand grains, causing the sand grains to harden and become impermeable, so the eggs will suffocate and die.

5. Use river sand for incubation. River sand has good aeration and water retention, and therefore yields a high hatching rate.

6. Properly control the incubation conditions. Among the incubation conditions, the most important are the temperature and humidity of the sand that the turtle eggs are in contact with. The temperature should preferably be controlled at 28 to 32°C, with a maximum not exceeding 34°C and a minimum not below 25°C. The water content should preferably be 5 to 15%, that is, when you grasp the sand with your hand it forms a clump, and when you release it, it naturally falls apart. Check the temperature and humidity frequently, and if conditions are unsuitable, adjust them promptly.

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