# Leaving eggs in ground - boxie turtle - thoughts please



## tortoiselady (Jun 17, 2013)

Hello,
Being part of a rescue it is really not our thing to allow breeding here (sulcatas & DT's mostly), but we have a small group of box turtles here who after a few years of being together have now done the deed of digging the hole, packing the nest, and finally going off to bed for the night. We saw from early stages of packing the nest back and off to bed, so we do not know how many eggs - I guess even if there really is an egg. The behavior was it - I promise that  

Box turtles are not a problem for our rescue at all at this time, but I still left the egg(s) right there in the ground where she put them. The hole was packed back in, but did not look very covered - first time doing the egg deed - LOL. I added a thin layer of some organic top soil, a layer of some Spanish moss, and finally an upside down clay pot over the complete nest, plus some. The climate is based off of 91384 (Southern California inland and mostly hot at this time of the year).

Any opinions on what I may find in time - when should I start looking under the pot and how often when I do. OR is this a 100% waste of time? Opinions from someone who has done outside boxie eggs would be great. Honestly we are okay either way. The rescue world keeps us more than busy.

Thank you for sharing


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## yagyujubei (Jun 17, 2013)

I would remove everything you did and just let them be. You could surround the nest with a small wire fence if you like. I doubt that they'll hatch in your area, though.


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## Yvonne G (Jun 17, 2013)

If your rescue doesn't allow breeding, then you'll have to separate the males and females. Other than that, you should just let nature take its course. If the ants get the eggs, or if birds get the babies when they hatch, that's nature.

I operate a rescue too, but I try to adopt out any incoming within a two week period. I never have male and female rescues in the same pen, so I don't have to worry about breeding and egg laying.

The one exception to this rule is the box turtles. Like you, I have many, many box turtles. But their pens are too shady for eggs to hatch. I leave nests alone and if they hatch, and I should happen to find babies, I'll bring them in the house and make sure they're eating, then they get adopted out too. Doesn't happen too often because of the shade, skunks and ants.


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## terryo (Jun 17, 2013)

I'm not a rescue, and I live in NY. I have never taken in any eggs, but have often found babies the following Spring or Summer. They usually go into a deep cave where they hibernate to lay them. I never touched the eggs or covered them with anything, as they are in a cave. I don't even know what happened to them, except when I would find a baby.

Each year we have Snapping turtles that come up the the local pond and lay their eggs in our yard or on the side of the house. We cover the spot with an old screen and put some rocks on the side to hold the screen down. They lay them in June and they usually hatch in September and then we release them back into the pond.


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## tortoiselady (Jun 17, 2013)

Yvonne G said:


> If your rescue doesn't allow breeding, then you'll have to separate the males and females. Other than that, you should just let nature take its course. If the ants get the eggs, or if birds get the babies when they hatch, that's nature.
> 
> I operate a rescue too, but I try to adopt out any incoming within a two week period. I never have male and female rescues in the same pen, so I don't have to worry about breeding and egg laying.
> 
> The one exception to this rule is the box turtles. Like you, I have many, many box turtles. But their pens are too shady for eggs to hatch. I leave nests alone and if they hatch, and I should happen to find babies, I'll bring them in the house and make sure they're eating, then they get adopted out too. Doesn't happen too often because of the shade, skunks and ants.



I am with a large rescue group statewide and these 5 are my personal boxies - some I adopted and some I paid for. I don't do breeding of sulcatas because I don't believe in it - I don't even foster DT's more than once or two a year when our DT fosters are maxed out. Most of what is here is ours now. We try to place the animals from one home to next with the exception or seriously true rescue situations. We do make prior visits to both the home that has the tortoise and the home that is getting the tortoise. The true emergency rescues have private quarantine pens and do not share with anyone here. Overall, doing this is how my assorted group got so large and I ended up buying another house with more land - LOL.

The boxies are peaceful and I enjoy sitting with them. If they would like to make babies - no problem. Homes are not in short supply for them at this time. If that ever changes this will change too.

So? If there is a tiny chance something happens in that nest, when would I start looking? I will take the stuff off and let the nest get Sun, but it will get water too. Again, don't think anything will come of this, just curious.

Thank you.




terryo said:


> I'm not a rescue, and I live in NY. I have never taken in any eggs, but have often found babies the following Spring or Summer. They usually go into a deep cave where they hibernate to lay them. I never touched the eggs or covered them with anything, as they are in a cave. I don't even know what happened to them, except when I would find a baby.
> 
> Each year we have Snapping turtles that come up the the local pond and lay their eggs in our yard or on the side of the house. We cover the spot with an old screen and put some rocks on the side to hold the screen down. They lay them in June and they usually hatch in September and then we release them back into the pond.



Thank you - that is what I wanted to know. I will remove the pot and put a screen down like you described. If it happens so be it. 

Thank you


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## yagyujubei (Jun 17, 2013)

My box turtles hatch after about 45 - 50 days @ 85 degrees. So, it depends on the actual temperature in the nest. If the ground dries out, so will the eggs.


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## tortoiselady (Jun 17, 2013)

yagyujubei said:


> My box turtles hatch after about 45 - 50 days @ 85 degrees. So, it depends on the actual temperature in the nest. If the ground dries out, so will the eggs.



WOW ! Great information. I will let the sprinklers keep going in the pen. I keep their pen well watered. 

Even though we are not trying to breed, I must admit babies are always such an amazing event. I have set a reminder for me to know when it or they may possibly show up. I do not want to risk letting it stay in the big pen with the adults.


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## yagyujubei (Jun 17, 2013)

Good Luck!


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## kimber_lee_314 (Jun 17, 2013)

I live in So Cal too. Sometimes I leave my boxie eggs in the ground, sometimes I incubate them. They almost always hatch either way. As for the eggs I leave in the ground - I put a small flat rock on top of the nest with the date the eggs were laid. On the 100th day I water the area well and babies usually come up. They may hatch earlier than that - but they seem to stay down in the nest until at least the 100th day. Good luck and let us know!


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## tortoiselady (Jun 17, 2013)

kimber_lee_314 said:


> I live in So Cal too. Sometimes I leave my boxie eggs in the ground, sometimes I incubate them. They almost always hatch either way. As for the eggs I leave in the ground - I put a small flat rock on top of the nest with the date the eggs were laid. On the 100th day I water the area well and babies usually come up. They may hatch earlier than that - but they seem to stay down in the nest until at least the 100th day. Good luck and let us know!



That is simply amazing! It sounds like a seed in the ground doing its thing until it gets its water. Thank you for sharing that. I will not give it an expiration date - if it shows up it shows up. I did put the screen over it and it will get watered twice a day. I left the moss over it because she tried really hard to fill it in, but it was still a little to exposed of a hole. The pen gets a lot of sunshine and lots of shade - that spots is 50/50. I guess time will only tell.


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## txturtle13 (Aug 5, 2013)

I just posted something similar! I guess now I have my answer. Except I didn't see any actual eggs, but her behavior suggested that's what she was doing. I would love to see a little one


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## Benjamin (Aug 5, 2013)

I never collect any eggs, rarely do I observe oviposition either. I will find a few hatchlings in the spring every year though.


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## SANDRA_MEISSNEST (Aug 5, 2013)

I love this post keep us posted and let us know if you got any hatchlings
good luck

Sent from my ZTE N9120 using TortForum mobile app


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## tortoiselady (Aug 5, 2013)

SANDRA_MEISSNEST said:


> I love this post keep us posted and let us know if you got any hatchlings
> good luck
> 
> Sent from my ZTE N9120 using TortForum mobile app



I sure will - it is still too early to know.


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