Allow the female tortoise to lay her eggs and cover her nest. After she has finished covering her nest then gently uncover the nest carefully remove the eggs. Mark the tops with a pencil so that you can keep the eggs in the same position as you took them out of the nest. Do Not Rotate the Eggs! Place the vermiculite in the small box, then add the eggs. Then put them in the ice chest. Put the aquarium heater in the jar of water and add this to the ice chest. Using the thermometer, adjust the heat, you should maintain a temperature of 75-85 degrees F. Make sure the jar of water does not run out of water as this provides humidity for the eggs. You can leave the lid to the ice chest open a little to allow for ventilation as well as control over the temperature. Incubation time can take from 72-150 days. After 72 days, start checking the eggs. Let the hatchlings come out of their eggs on their own. They will not all hatch at the same time. After they hatch the hatchlings should be placed on a piece of wax paper in a container. This protects the yolk sac, which will be used for nourishment over the course of the next few days.
Baby tortoises' shells may remain flexible for a few weeks, but should harden with proper diet and sunlight. Care must be taken during the first few days that the yolk sac does not rupture, as the baby most certainly will bleed to death. If the yolk sac is large, it can be carefully coated with white vaseline and placed on wax paper until the yolk is absorbed.
Once the yolk sac is absorbed they can be set up in the following way. A glass aquarium is suitable for hatchlings as it allows for suitable room for movement and has sides that are hish enough to protect the babies from drafts. I have also used a small plastic tub, similar to what you would use for a cat litter box. Although, if you are to use this type of container make sure it is very clean or brand new. Line the bottom with newspaper and rabbit pellets (the food you feed rabbits). This provides an absorbent substrate which is not harmful if eaten. Do Not Use Sand . A box should be provided for sleeping.
Food can be offered right away. Fresh food should be provided daily and should be chopped into small pieces. The guidelines for this is to ensure that none of the food items are larger then the hatchlings head. Green vegetables such as grass, dandelions, clover, endive, escarole, kale, broccoli and small amounts of romaine, along with Hibiscus and rose petals should be offered. Lettuce contains no nutritional value. Greens should be dusted twice a week with a vitamin supplement, such as Super Preen (a powered bird vitamin made by Blair). Hatchlings should be allowed to drink and soak in a shallow dish of water at least once a week. The dish should be small enough so that they can get in and out by themselves.
Natural sunlight is very important. On warm days they should be put outside. However, a place out of the sunshine needs to be available. If there are crows, cats, and other predators in the area the hatchlings should be watched carefully. When they can not be put outside in the sunshine they will need to be provided with a full spectrum light, such as a Vita-Lite. Hatchlings should be brought indoors at night, or the light should be turned off.
It is impossible to determine the sex of a newborn turtle or tortoise. The under of the shell (plastron) is flat on all young tortoises until they are 8 to 10 years old. If it is a female, the plastron will remain flat, if it is a male the plastron will become concave (dip in).