How to Hatch Baby Russian Turtles

According to "Turtles and Tortoises for Dummies," a Russian tortoise will lay a clutch of three to five eggs at a time and will lay those eggs about four weeks after fertilization. If you want to hatch baby tortoises (and if you have a male and a female, you should plan on it or separate them), preparing for the eggs ahead of time is a must for the survival of the hatchlings.

Things You'll Need

  • Incubator
  • Thermometer
  • Hygrometer
  • Vermiculite
  • Plastic shoebox
  • Water
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Instructions

    • 1

      Fill a plastic shoebox with damp vermiculite. Add enough water so that the vermiculite sticks together when you squeeze it into a fist, but not so much that puddles form.

    • 2

      Heat the incubator to between 84 and 89 degrees F at least a day before your tortoise lays her eggs. Use a digital thermometer to monitor the temperature. Temperature determines the gender of your hatchlings; high temperatures produce females and low temperatures produce males. Set the temperature to 86 degrees to produce a mix of both.

    • 3

      Put the shoebox in the tortoise enclosure away from the light source. Build a ramp of rocks or soil so the tortoise can climb in. The mother will pace the enclosure and begin digging when she is ready to lay her clutch. She will behave restlessly for up to a week before laying eggs.

    • 4

      Put all eggs laid elsewhere into the shoebox. Keep the eggs in their original position while moving them. Put the plastic shoebox in the incubator and fill the incubator halfway with water. Keep the shoebox open.

    • 5

      Put a hygrometer (a device that measures relative humidity) in the shoebox. Add water to the incubator or to the shoebox if the humidity level is below 80 percent humidity.

    • 6

      Hatchlings spend up to two days hatching from the eggs. Leave each hatchling in the incubator with its eggs until the yoke sack is completely absorbed.

    • 7

      Keep hatchlings in a plastic container planted with grass until they are eating regularly. Hatchlings can wait up to a week to begin eating after hatching.