Will they cannabilize their own eggs?

[Neltharion]

I wasn't expecting eggs this year even though I saw breeding attempts. But I noticed on one of the Hermann's females, what appeared to be a piece of egg shell stuck to her front foot. When I removed it, it as a tiny, white, and a little rubbery in texture. I found no eggs an no obvious nesting site. I also did not find anything else that resembled egg shells, just that one small piece.

I've been away for five days on business, and had someone providing food and soaks while I was gone. She was not checking the hides or otherwise sifting through the soil or moss in the enclosure, which is what I regularly do. If a female laid eggs, would a different female or a male dig them up and eat them? Has anyone ever encountered this before? I've never encountered anything like this with russians. If it wasn't a piece of eggshell, I'm wondering what exactly it was.

 

[terryo]

I don't know anything about Hermanns, but I never took in any box turtle eggs...for years..and in the Summer I would find a few babies. At that time I had at least 10 box turtles in my garden. Only once did I see a boxie eating an egg. I used to find lots of shells though.

 

[Az tortoise compound]

Usually, it would only happen if the female is missing certain nutrients in her diet. With that being said, they are opportunistic eaters

 

[Jacqui]

Like the others have said, they may have been eaten. Another, some what nicer thought, is she accidentally broke an egg while laying or covering her nest and a piece just stuck on the foot.

 

[Neltharion]

Well, I did some more digging around. There seem to be a few more fragments of egg shells. No eggs. Their food is supplemented with calcium and vitamins two to three times a week. There's also a few cuttle bones for birds, that I see bites out of occasionally. The only thing that I could think of was that they were not fed as much while I was away, one of them laid eggs, and a hungry tort decided to chow down on eggs. I usually put a large amount of food and remove whatever is left over. I think my friend put in substantially less, worried that they could die or harm themselves from overeating.

 

[elegans]

I have seen many tortoise species eat their own eggs, usually broken ones. I have seen and or know of multiple keepers that have seen tortoise / turtles eat their own hatched babies. Not a happy thought, but it is the way that it is!