Just found this Forum and found it very interesting. Can anyone help with some advice please? Our torts have produced 6 eggs four weeks ago and they are now in the incubator. I want to prepare (hopefully) for the hatchlings but am not sure I should spend out on tortoise tables, lighting etc until I know they are fertile. If I set up a tray with a substrate 50:50 of topsoil and play sand, water and a heat lamp, will that surfice until I could get a tortoise table up and running? Also, if I am lucky, any suggestions on what tortoise table to buy? Thank you for any advice

Hi Kazza, welcome to the forum.

Lets hope the eggs are fertile and you see some littleuns. You can use those storage boxes you get from pound shops, diy places and the like. The opaque plastic ones. I use ones about 30" x 15" for hatchling size turtles. Get a shallow one about 6-8 inches deep as it allows proper ventilation. Remember to include a UVB light source, very important even for hatchlings. Cant help you on buying a tort table, I make my own,
pretty straight forward, four lengths of wood and a plywood base. Good luck let us know if they hatch out.

There's pictures of a storage box setup here

http://www.tortoise-protection-group.org.uk/site/58.asp?thissection=17

Thanks for the advice. Getting really excited! Five weeks gone now! I'll keep you informed. Thanks for a great website!! Really informative.

51 days today since the eggs were laid. How much longer till I find out if I have hatchlings?!!!!!

Hi, its usually 60+days, just hang on in there!

Regards Vivienne