# Eastern Box Turtle Laid An Egg.



## BaddestMarie

I had just noticed that my female eastern box turtle laid an egg. I took the egg out of her tank without shaking or turning it. I read online to put the egg in a container with dirt & make sure its moist & damp. Im honestly not sure if the egg is even fertile & it has a little spot on the egg thats a little deflated. (As you can see in the picture) I just wanna know if i can hatch the egg with the little container i made. Also if the little deflated spot is normal. Please, i need help before its too late.


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## foxboysracing

That is very normal with a box turtle egg. You need to keep the humidity up, and keep the egg about 80-84 degrees. That's the temp I keep them in my incubator. The dent is normal. Is there a crack in the top of the egg? Does it go all the way through the shell of the egg? If you increase the humidity of the egg, the dent will often correct itself. If the egg completely caves in and almost is in half, toss it. It is bad. Otherwise give it time. Don't give up easily. If it gets a small tear in the shell, very very carefully cover the whole with a super small piece of scotch tape. Do not cover any more than you have to. The egg has to breathe. You sound like you know to never turn or rotate it. The baby will drown. If you need more help let me know. I have some unexpected eggs in the incubator now too. At 84 degrees they should hatch in about 60ish days. If the temperature is lower it takes longer, maybe even 3 months. 
Good luck!!


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## AnthonyC

That is so cool! Good luck & I really hope it hatches for you!!


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## BaddestMarie

foxboysracing said:


> That is very normal with a box turtle egg. You need to keep the humidity up, and keep the egg about 80-84 degrees. That's the temp I keep them in my incubator. The dent is normal. Is there a crack in the top of the egg? Does it go all the way through the shell of the egg? If you increase the humidity of the egg, the dent will often correct itself. If the egg completely caves in and almost is in half, toss it. It is bad. Otherwise give it time. Don't give up easily. If it gets a small tear in the shell, very very carefully cover the whole with a super small piece of scotch tape. Do not cover any more than you have to. The egg has to breathe. You sound like you know to never turn or rotate it. The baby will drown. If you need more help let me know. I have some unexpected eggs in the incubator now too. At 84 degrees they should hatch in about 60ish days. If the temperature is lower it takes longer, maybe even 3 months.
> Good luck!!



-Thank You 
I was so worried about the deflated area. The deflated area has a little crack && you can see a little bit inside the egg but not too much. Idk, its sorta hard to explain. When i look in to the crack, i see like the egg shell top a little lifted off of the deflated piece. Also, when i took the egg out of the tank yesterday, it looked really yellow && one of the ends were chalky. Is that normal? Also this is her 2nd egg she has given us. Last month she had popped only one egg out, but by the time i got to it, my russian tortise trampled all over it  Im really hopeing there is a baby tortise in this new egg so i can prove my husband wrong. He just thinks the egg is infertile.


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## BaddestMarie

AnthonyC said:


> That is so cool! Good luck & I really hope it hatches for you!!



-Aww, thank you soo much. I really do hope it hatches for me too. I just am sooo excited everyday knowing that a little baby might be born near christmas  I think the hatch date will be December 26th 2011.


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## dmmj

If the membrane inside the egg is exposed/open then the egg is no good, the egg itself can crack as long as the membrane does not get ripped or torn.
In my experience one egg is usually not fertile, but let's hope for the best.


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## fbsmith3

A female Box turtle can not produce a fertile egg without a male box turtle. She is housed with a male Russian Tortoise, no matter how many times he mates with her, they will never produce young. Sorry, but I do not want you to get your heart set on an impossibility.


God Bless.


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## BaddestMarie

dmmj said:


> If the membrane inside the egg is exposed/open then the egg is no good, the egg itself can crack as long as the membrane does not get ripped or torn.
> In my experience one egg is usually not fertile, but let's hope for the best.



-When i look inside the little crack, i dnt see the membrane. You know when you eat boiled eggs && when you peel the egg shell off, it kinda has a thin papery layer behind it? Well, thats what i see when i look in the crack. Also i think this egg might be fertile because in June, my husbands brother came back with this turtle when he visted the carolinas. He said he saw her crossing the highway, so he saved her. I honestly feel like he shouldve left her in the carolinas because her age is unknown && i feel bad that she was taken away from her state. We live in New York. I read online that the egg could be fertile due to the fact that they can store sperm in their bodies for 4yrs.


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## BaddestMarie

fbsmith3 said:


> A female Box turtle can not produce a fertile egg without a male box turtle. She is housed with a male Russian Tortoise, no matter how many times he mates with her, they will never produce young. Sorry, but I do not want you to get your heart set on an impossibility.
> 
> God Bless.



-They havent mated because he pays no attention to her && i havent heard him scream. Also she is a wild eastern box turtle that my husbands brother gave us back in june. He found her in crossing the highway iin the carolinas && brought her back to us.


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## dmmj

You should be able to see the membrane if a little of the egg is cracked, if you can't see it then the membrane then the egg is no longer good, but don't throw it away until you know for sure, stranger things have happened, and of course the turtle should have been left alone, but what is done is done, no point worrying about it now.


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## fbsmith3

Yes, she can not be returned to the wild unless she can be returned to the exact spot she was found.

If she has laid 2 eggs there may be more. It might be best to set up a separate enclosure for her. It might help her lay the rest of the eggs.


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## BaddestMarie

-This is what my container looks like with my egg in it. I just want to make sure that this is how its suposed to look. My husband put the dirt in && now a little bit of dirt/dirt dust is in the crack. Is that okay? Also i put a wet/damp paper towel over the dirt && egg. The egg isnt as yellow as it was yesterday && the deflated part doesnt look that bad now. The only thing im worried about is the little crack && if th container habitat is correct.


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## dmmj

Looks pretty good, are you heating it?


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## BaddestMarie

dmmj said:


> Looks pretty good, are you heating it?


-Since i live in New York, its a little cold in my appartment. Right now its 74 degrees in my room && i have a fan heater above my tortise tank. So when it turns on, the hot warm air goes into the tank. I placed the container in the tank under a lamp, but the lamp isnt a heat bulb, its just a regular bulb. The container is also on the side of the tank where i placed the heater. So that when the heater turns on, the warm air goes to the container. Also, the heater turns on every 5-10Minutes.


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## Yvonne G

Hi BaddestMarie:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!


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## african cake queen

hi, good luck with your egg. hope it hatches for you.


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## BaddestMarie

momo said:


> hi, good luck with your egg. hope it hatches for you.



-Thank you  I really hope it hatches as well.


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## yagyujubei

Sorry to tell you, but I don't think that egg will hatch. Sure won't hurt to try though.


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## BaddestMarie

yagyujubei said:


> Sorry to tell you, but I don't think that egg will hatch. Sure won't hurt to try though.



-Idk either. But the shell isnt deflating && it looks the same as it did on monday when she laid it. If it was infertile, wouldnt it be deflating? Or rotting out by now?


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## yagyujubei

I found an egg a couple of weeks ago that had a dent, laid on top of the ground. Put in the incubator, it developed a tear at the edge of the dent, similar to yours. After another week, the dent got a lot bigger, and I discarded it.

Also, eggs can stay at room temp for a long time before they go bad.


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## BaddestMarie

yagyujubei said:


> I found an egg a couple of weeks ago that had a dent, laid on top of the ground. Put in the incubator, it developed a tear at the edge of the dent, similar to yours. After another week, the dent got a lot bigger, and I discarded it.
> 
> Also, eggs can stay at room temp for a long time before they go bad.





-When i found the egg, it already had the dent && tear on it. But when you look into the tear, its not an open hole.


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## foxboysracing

I would give it a try. It can't hurt. You really haven't lost anything if you try. But, if you discard it now, without more proof it's bad, then you may always wonder. I say give it a shot. You never know. Usually if they are going to go bad and rot, they will do it within the first week or so. But, keep in mind that just because it makes it past that point won't mean it's fertile. But, let's hope and pray. who knows? Maybe you will end up with the cutest baby ever. Do your best, and give up when it's obvious nothing could be living inside. You will know when that time is.


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## BaddestMarie

foxboysracing said:


> I would give it a try. It can't hurt. You really haven't lost anything if you try. But, if you discard it now, without more proof it's bad, then you may always wonder. I say give it a shot. You never know. Usually if they are going to go bad and rot, they will do it within the first week or so. But, keep in mind that just because it makes it past that point won't mean it's fertile. But, let's hope and pray. who knows? Maybe you will end up with the cutest baby ever. Do your best, and give up when it's obvious nothing could be living inside. You will know when that time is.



-Thank you for the support. Im trying my best to keep the egg warm && a little moist. I just hope the egg is fertile.


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## ALDABRAMAN

Congrats.


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## BaddestMarie

ALDABRAMAN said:


> Congrats.



-Thank You


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## foxboysracing

I am starting to suspect my egg might not be fertile either....  But, I will keep it in there until I KNOW it is not fertile, or it starts to rot. I am still holding out hope. Picturing a super cute little hatchling is enough to make it worth keeping it "just right". The best of luck to you. 

Mine was laid on 10/01 unexpectedly by a eastern that I had rescued. I have had her for quite awhile and got her well and healthy again. I found her a great home with people who knew exactly what she needed and who I felt could give her a wonderful home. As I was watching her settle in, she went into her new water and laid an egg. Crazy.  Very unexpected. She had been in with my other boxies and I had seen some 'activity'. So, who knows??? It's worth a try to me...... 
Dawn


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## BaddestMarie

foxboysracing said:


> I am starting to suspect my egg might not be fertile either....  But, I will keep it in there until I KNOW it is not fertile, or it starts to rot. I am still holding out hope. Picturing a super cute little hatchling is enough to make it worth keeping it "just right". The best of luck to you.
> 
> Mine was laid on 10/01 unexpectedly by a eastern that I had rescued. I have had her for quite awhile and got her well and healthy again. I found her a great home with people who knew exactly what she needed and who I felt could give her a wonderful home. As I was watching her settle in, she went into her new water and laid an egg. Crazy.  Very unexpected. She had been in with my other boxies and I had seen some 'activity'. So, who knows??? It's worth a try to me......
> Dawn



-Im just hoping for the best. My egg still looks the same && its not rotting. Hmmmm. I just gotta wait. Also, i took pictures of the mama that laid the egg


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## BaddestMarie

-So its been a week since she laid her egg && the egg looks good  Today i looked at the egg && the deflated part && tear look like their fixing itself. The deflated part isnt that deflated anymore && the tear/hole is closing! So there obviously should be a baby in this egg.


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## foxboysracing

BaddestMarie said:


> -So its been a week since she laid her egg && the egg looks good  Today i looked at the egg && the deflated part && tear look like their fixing itself. The deflated part isnt that deflated anymore && the tear/hole is closing! So there obviously should be a baby in this egg.



I am so happy for you!!!! If the humidity is right the dent will sometimes come out. You would think by now it would have rotted if it wasn't fertile, but in the back of my brain I remember an egg that did that, and still never hatched. I want to warn you, that it still may not be fertile or hatch, without being a "debbie downer". Just stay positive and remember that if you get a baby it is a blessing, and if you don't then you have enjoyed spending some time and very little money and can try again later. 

My egg still looks good too. My dent is completely gone too, and the crack I had is gone.  Let's cross our fingers.


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## BaddestMarie

foxboysracing said:


> I am so happy for you!!!! If the humidity is right the dent will sometimes come out. You would think by now it would have rotted if it wasn't fertile, but in the back of my brain I remember an egg that did that, and still never hatched. I want to warn you, that it still may not be fertile or hatch, without being a "debbie downer". Just stay positive and remember that if you get a baby it is a blessing, and if you don't then you have enjoyed spending some time and very little money and can try again later.
> 
> My egg still looks good too. My dent is completely gone too, and the crack I had is gone.  Let's cross our fingers.



-I looked at the my egg today && the whole dent is totally gone  I took pictures of the progress. Not sure if you can tell if the dent is gone in the pics tho.


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## jackrat

Congrats!


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## foxboysracing

Any new news? Mine is about the same. she did finally lay another egg last week. I incubated it and it caved in from the bottom and fell in. It needed to be discarded. It was obvious. My other egg still looks the same. still no dent again. No cracks. I held it over a light, and it doesn't look like there is anything going on inside at all. But then again, who knows. I am keeping it int he incubator until its obvious its going to hatch or be start rotting... Let's hope for the best!!!


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## zesty_17

it could be an old egg that she has retained and finally laid for you. retained eggs tend to be discolored and over-calicified.


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## BaddestMarie

foxboysracing said:


> Any new news? Mine is about the same. she did finally lay another egg last week. I incubated it and it caved in from the bottom and fell in. It needed to be discarded. It was obvious. My other egg still looks the same. still no dent again. No cracks. I held it over a light, and it doesn't look like there is anything going on inside at all. But then again, who knows. I am keeping it int he incubator until its obvious its going to hatch or be start rotting... Let's hope for the best!!!



-My egg looks the same. No new dents. The old dent isnt even there anymore && the egg hasnt rotted out yet. I hope it hatches 



zesty_17 said:


> it could be an old egg that she has retained and finally laid for you. retained eggs tend to be discolored and over-calicified.



-The egg isnt hard like its old. The egg had a dent before && now the dents gone. The egg also hasnt even rotted out yet.


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## gmarie808

Yay for you both! Our eggs became more dented as the days went by even with the warm vaporizer on them. My bf had the stomach to open one of them, he said it looked like a regular egg (yolk and clear whites). I don't think they were fertile to begin with. He doesn't believe Shelly would lay infertile eggs, he doesn't see how that is possible. I tried explaining it to him but he doesn't share my logic. I have come to the conclusion that our box turtles cannot make viable eggs because they are different kinds of box turtles. Our male seems to be a 3-Toed and our female is an Ornate. Anyone concur?


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## turtlemann2

ornates and three toed boxie CAN and WILL make babies although it is usually looked down upon, creating hybrids that is, Although female box turtles can and Will lay infertile eggs very similer to chickens they lay eggs when no rooster is present its just what they do,

My three toed female just layed a pair of eggs on the 17th  except i posted in the box turtle forum. oops


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