ACK!!! I've got Eggs!!! Now What?

OMG! OK - a little back story - I acquired an adult female crested from Emily over Thanksgiving (one that she was planning to retire). She felt that she was probably done laying eggs, but brought me a nesting box with soil and moss, as well as a small container with some hatch rite for incubating just in case. Since I'm not really interested in breeding cresties (I'm crestie impaired), we agreed if there were any more eggs resulting in babies, they belong to her.

This morning I'm checking all the critters, lift up the nesting box and see one egg (there are actually two in there). It's moist while not damp, so I'm not moving them yet. Should I mark them with an x with pencil and carefully move them so that the X is on top in the hatchrite?

I feel certain, since they incubate at room temp that they are fine for now until I get some answers.

Emily is on a family retreat this weekend, I've already placed an SOS call with her, but if anyone with experience can chime in, I'd appreciate it!

You gonna have babies :banana::banana::banana:

Sorry no input :(

Siblings to Daytona, apparently!

And...you're no help! :P

Yes, go ahead and move them to the hatch rite. I don't leave them on the top, but kind of snuggle them into the substrate a bit. (don't bury them, but make sure they won't roll)

And yes, they incubate at room temp... as long as room temp is betwee 70-80. ;)

Awww... babies! How cool! Do you get to hold onto them until they hatch?

I love babies:carrot:

Oh neat Robin:)

Put them on the Hatcrite, perilite, whatever you choose. In an air tight container. Make sure they stay Above 70 degrees, but under 80. I keep mind at about 76 degrees.

Definitely mark the top how you found them. You can also candle them to see the pink ring. The pink ring should be at the top, then mark it.

"Incubate, then send to Justin!" Says Emily...:D

Oh wow Robin! Congrats! (now that my heartbeat is back to normal because I didn't look at the forum and immediately thought...OMG SHE GOT BP EGGS ALREADY!) :D

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

Oh wow Robin! Congrats! (now that my heartbeat is back to normal because I didn't look at the forum and immediately thought...OMG SHE GOT BP EGGS ALREADY!) :D

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That's what you get for reading from new posts, rather than from the index like I do! :P

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Originally Posted by rabernet

That's what you get for reading from new posts, rather than from the index like I do! :P

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Hey I see "rabernet" and "eggs" I temporarily lose my mind! :P

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Originally Posted by Kristy

Oh neat Robin:)

Put them on the Hatcrite, perilite, whatever you choose. In an air tight container. Make sure they stay Above 70 degrees, but under 80. I keep mind at about 76 degrees.

Definitely mark the top how you found them. You can also candle them to see the pink ring. The pink ring should be at the top, then mark it.

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Yeah, like I have a working flashlight here! :rofl:

Seriously though, Christie called me, talked me through it, and now they are in a space where they won't be knocked over. I even took pictures (which I'll get up after I get done with my running around).

Stupid company party tonight is making me stark raving mad! LOL

You did just fine! I'm glad I could have been of help! :hug:

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Originally Posted by rabernet

Yeah, like I have a working flashlight here! :rofl:

Seriously though, Christie called me, talked me through it, and now they are in a space where they won't be knocked over. I even took pictures (which I'll get up after I get done with my running around).

Stupid company party tonight is making me stark raving mad! LOL

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YEsSS we get some pics. Congrats.

:teamwork:

we want pics, we want pics!!!

thats so awesome! congrats, i hope they do well for you

OK - if you insist, here are the pictures!

In the lay box:

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e9...restieEggs.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e9...estieEggs2.jpg

In the Hatchrite
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e9...estieEggs3.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e9...estieEggs4.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e9...estieEggs5.jpg

Oh, and I went out and bought an LED flashlight, but it's too big for the eggs, to really see anything.

aweeee and you have just the two? do you think shes done laying? I thought their clutches were bigger than that (but i really dont know lol)

two is better than nothing. right? hah. Awesome.:)

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Originally Posted by AshleyB

aweeee and you have just the two? do you think shes done laying? I thought their clutches were bigger than that (but i really dont know lol)

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No, two eggs is very typical of a crestie clutch. ;)

Very good job Robin. :clap: You should take a picture of them next to a quarter. You'll be surprised how much they grow. :D

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Originally Posted by tigerlily

No, two eggs is very typical of a crestie clutch. ;)

Very good job Robin. :clap: You should take a picture of them next to a quarter. You'll be surprised how much they grow. :D

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The eggs grow?

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Originally Posted by tigerlily

No, two eggs is very typical of a crestie clutch. ;)

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And from what Christie told me, they can have them once a month!

Christie, thank you for calling me today and talking me through it, you're the best!

PS, Karl said to ask Russ - where are his pictures? :P

Yup. They start out all cute and small, but I swear the are at least double the size when the little boogers hatch. :yes:

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Originally Posted by rabernet

And from what Christie told me, they can have them once a month!

Christie, thank you for calling me today and talking me through it, you're the best!

PS, Karl said to ask Russ - where are his pictures? :P

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You're very welcome.

As for Karl... I'm still mad at him for not coming to lunch with us. *pout* So no pictures for him. :P

Actually you guys are closer to Russ than I am. He's in Atlanta for the NHL AllStars game this weekend. I swear he sounded like a kid in a candy store, which scares the everyloving wits out of me!!! :O

I love me some baby livards.:taz::rolleye2::taz:

Karl wants to know how he can make it up to you Christie!

Here you go Christie!

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e9...tieQuarter.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e9...ieQuarter2.jpg

BTW, why haven't they hatched yet? :rolleye2:

Wow she passed two eggs AND a quarter! Pretty cool! :rolleye2: :P

wooooot! :w00t: they look excellent robin! i've been out skiing all day, but i can't check my voicemail here anyhow (no t-mobile service!).

i can't believe she layed again after all this time--i'll have to check my records when i get home but i think her last clutch was a month or two before thanksgiving. the girls she was living with before are all being silly and still laying even though they've been separated from their males for 4+ months and are even being cooled. you just never know what they're gonna do!

the babies will be siblings to daytona. she may lay a few more clutches too, we'll just have to wait and see. generally they lay every 3.5-4.5 weeks. i'm sure you'll be a good egg mom robin. the good news is that this call for an excuse for us to get together... :D

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Originally Posted by mlededee

wooooot! :w00t: they look excellent robin! i've been out skiing all day, but i can't check my voicemail here anyhow (no t-mobile service!).

i can't believe she layed again after all this time--i'll have to check my records when i get home but i think her last clutch was a month or two before thanksgiving. the girls she was living with before are all being silly and still laying even though they've been separated from their males for 4+ months and are even being cooled. you just never know what they're gonna do!

the babies will be siblings to daytona. she may lay a few more clutches too, we'll just have to wait and see. generally they lay every 3.5-4.5 weeks. i'm sure you'll be a good egg mom robin. the good news is that this call for an excuse for us to get together... :D

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Excellent reason to get together! So....if she lays another clutch in four weeks, do I just put them in the same container with these eggs?

aweeee thats sooo cute! they are surprisingly larger than i expected! wow

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Originally Posted by rabernet

So....if she lays another clutch in four weeks, do I just put them in the same container with these eggs?

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yep--just mark the eggs with a pencil or a sharpie marker (that's what i use) so that you know which are which (i just use numbers). it will probably be obvious by size, but i'd mark them anyhow just in case. :)

1st..Robin, how about an update on the eggs?
2nd..are they brittle or leathery?...

It is highly likely that they are fertile. Mom was bred and laid several clutches before this one--we just thought she was finished laying before she went to live with Robin. :)

Well, I read they grow, but maybe it's so slow I can't visually tell. They're still incubating. They're not brittle as far as I can tell - they appear to be the same "a little softer than a chicken egg" texture that they were when they were laid. It's only been a few weeks now. Thanks for asking, Charlie!

The growth isn't too noticeable at first. Toward the last few weeks it gets obvious, but if you don't have newer eggs to compare them to it can be hard to tell. :)

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Originally Posted by mlededee

The growth isn't too noticeable at first. Toward the last few weeks it gets obvious, but if you don't have newer eggs to compare them to it can be hard to tell. :)

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I keep checking the nest box for more eggs, by my calculations, next Saturday will be three weeks, and there has been some digging in it, although not as noticeable as right before she laid these - so we'll see if we get more in the next few weeks.

I just caught up on this thread, very cool Robin. Crestie babies are so cute! how long do they need to brew?

I'd say 65-75 days depending on her exact temps. :)