A few questions about box turtle eggs and such...

[Saleama]

What temps do ya'll incubate them at? I am going to gather eggs for the first time this year and I want to make sure I do everything right. I don't care about sex, so I don't want to go low for males or high for females. I want to go just right, Should be interesting. Also, how in the world do you find them if you do not catch the female laying? I was considering moving my females into a seperate area but I don't know if that would cause them to not lay? Also, about how long after they come out of hibernation do they start laying? I know mine come out of the shed makin bacon and I have heard that they usually lay around 2 - 3 weeks after when it starts to stay warm. Is this accurate?

 

[kimber_lee_314]

Mine start laying as early as March and April, but mostly May through August (a few in September and October). The females usually start digging their nests late in the afternoon, so it's not hard to see them doing it. For most of them the digging goes on well through the night. In the morning I dig up the eggs, wash them off and put them into vermiculite. I incubate anywhere from 78 to 82 degrees. I usually have more hatchlings than I know what to do with! Hope that was helpful.

 

[Saleama]

Thanks for the info. Will moving them to a different garden effect them you think? 2 have been in the garden they are at for almost 20 years. The other 2 will have their first breeding season this year. Mine are all hybrids (if you want to use that term) or mutts if you will. All three toed mixed with either Gulf Coast or Ornate. My pure ornates and Gulf coasts are only 3 years old so I have a decade or so before they start laying.

 

[kimber_lee_314]

I'm not sure about moving them to a different garden. Mine generally don't lay eggs the first year I have them in a new enclosure, but some have. I try to keep them as stable as possible because of this.

 

[Saleama]

I'm not sure about moving them to a different garden. Mine generally don't lay eggs the first year I have them in a new enclosure, but some have. I try to keep them as stable as possible because of this.

That was my thought as well. Maybe I'll put up an outdoor camera system and catch them laying so I can go back later and remove the eggs. We used to have a dog that would find the babies but he died. We went from 19 two years ago to only finding 5 this past summer. I don't know, of course, if that is because they didn't have as many hatch or if we just didn't find all of the hatchlings, but we have 3 more females and 2 more males this year so there will probably be a bunch of the little guys running around come August.