Back in Mangkok after the CNY break

Fong and I got back to our base in Mangkok last night (20th February), after our long CNY break. The first thing I did upon arrival was rush to our box of terrapin eggs.

I was devastated by what I saw: a heap of dry sand outside the box.  It was a definite sign that rats had burrowed through the box.  I quickly opened the box (the cover had been weighted down by a plank) and found cavities in the sand and the damp cloth I had placed on top of the sand had been dragged to the hole made by the rat(s) at the side of the box.

Two eggs had been shifted from the horizontal position and were now sitting vertically.  A quick check showed that none of the eggs had been attacked yet.  What a relief!  The two eggs were marked to see if hatching will be affected at the end of the incubation period.  The hole was sealed and the eggs were carefully covered with moist sand again.

Before we left for our holidays, I had moistened the sand and placed a damp cloth over it to help maintain the moisture. This method seems to work as after a lapse of 10 days, the sand in the box was still nice and moist.

Fong kept a vigil in the kitchen and found four mice foraging around for food.  The big ones were about three inches long.

No one came to deliver eggs last night although the villagers have been alerted that we are back in the village.  We will visit Ropi later to pay him for the eggs he has helped us purchase in our absence.

To date, we have procured only 4 clutches of eggs for incubation.  This represents only a small proportion of the clutches deposited so far.

Attacked by mice