# Ground Eggs



## Raymo2477 (Jul 21, 2017)

I've been told eggs found on the surface are most likey infertile.

Is there any truth to this?


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## dovelett15 (Jul 23, 2017)

Not always the case that surface laid eggs are infertile. On a few occasions I have come across box turtle eggs laid on the surface that went on to hatch. Always worth a try to incubate those eggs cause you may be pleasantly surprised!!


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## Tom (Jul 23, 2017)

The key there is "most likely".

I'd try to incubate anyway. In fact I had a sulcata nest dug up by squirrels a couple of months ago and those eggs are in my incubator now.

Is this a first time mom? Many first timers drop some duds on the surface while they are warming up and getting ready to move into a life of making babies. Or sometimes females will drop the eggs on the surface if the area isn't suitable for digging a nest, or if they just don't "like" the areas you've provided for digging a nest.


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## jakskillz (Aug 24, 2017)

I bought female box turtles and they arrived and a week later laid eggs on the dirt of the quarantine tank. I can say that the reason most people assume they are duds is because it's hard to know what orientation the eggs are supposed to be in if they got moved or rolled around on the surface. 2 out of the eggs I collected are developing nicely and the third was fertile but not oriented correctly so stalled out. Always take a chance.


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## Tom (Aug 24, 2017)

Of the nine "squirrel" eggs mentioned above that I put in the incubator, 3 cracked and were no good. 6 of them hatched into healthy little sulcatas. They had been sitting fully exposed on the surface for between 2 and 5 days in the full summer sun with 100 degree temps. I didn't think there was any way they could hatch after being tossed around and baking in the sun like that. I was wrong.


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## ddunaier (Sep 23, 2017)

My CA Desert tort laid nine eggs outside. Left them buried and eight hatched with just the top remaining as a yolk. Probably never got warm like those buried deeper. Amazing how they dig themselves out. Anyone think I can hatch the top one. Still white with nice yellow yolk but it's been in the ground 95 days, all other hatched.


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