Freddd
Member
I have an Eastern Box Turtle nest in my backyard which was created on July 8 (95 days ago). I assumed the turtle wasn't going to hatch due to the time elapsed. It has been extremely dry here in central NC for the last 7-8 weeks, perhaps raining only twice. Anyway, I dug up the nest 11 days ago, and found one crumpled shell with no evidence of a turtle leaving, and one hard, fully-intact egg. I didn't dig any more, so there are probably more eggs in there.
I placed the egg back in the ground and checked it again today (my cat dug the site up a little bit). The shell was soft and dented and I could feel a turtle inside (I was guessing). Anyway, I opened it and removed the top part of the shell over the turtle's back, and it moved!! There was a tiny bit of blood and clear liquid lost in my hand. I did not remove him from the remaining part of the shell, so he's laying in the bottom third of the shell. There is a little bit of yolk left on the underside - maybe 1/6 the volume of the turtle's body, so I'm guessing it's mostly absorbed. It appears to be unbroken.
So what should I do now? It's been getting cool at night for the last week (mid 50's), and indoor temperature is around 70. He's in a Tupperware with a damp paper towel acting as a lid. He's still moist from residual egg liquid. I opened the egg at 6:00 ET.
Thanks!!!
Fred
I placed the egg back in the ground and checked it again today (my cat dug the site up a little bit). The shell was soft and dented and I could feel a turtle inside (I was guessing). Anyway, I opened it and removed the top part of the shell over the turtle's back, and it moved!! There was a tiny bit of blood and clear liquid lost in my hand. I did not remove him from the remaining part of the shell, so he's laying in the bottom third of the shell. There is a little bit of yolk left on the underside - maybe 1/6 the volume of the turtle's body, so I'm guessing it's mostly absorbed. It appears to be unbroken.
So what should I do now? It's been getting cool at night for the last week (mid 50's), and indoor temperature is around 70. He's in a Tupperware with a damp paper towel acting as a lid. He's still moist from residual egg liquid. I opened the egg at 6:00 ET.
Thanks!!!
Fred