Wild Florida Box Turtle Living in Yard / Laid Eggs - Jacksonville

[JaxFLBoxTurtles]

So a few weeks ago I found a box turtle in the middle of my backyard sitting next to a pile of tree limbs I recently trimmed out a few days before. Then just a couple days ago I saw her again right next to the house after I cut the grass. She sat there and dug a hole for about an hour and then laid 2 eggs! She then filled the hole in with fresh cut grass. I read that wild Florida Box Turtles are endangered so to see this was really cool. I made sure to stay at least 3-4 feet away from the area where the eggs are buried to make sure I don't disturb the ground to try to give them the best chance of hatching since the wild ones are endangered. But let me give you some background as to where I live which makes this even more amazing because I pretty much live right in the city.

I live in Jacksonville, FL and my backyard backs up into a wildlife preserve. But my house is right on a 4-lane main highway only about 20ft or so from the road in the Westside of Jacksonville. So by no means do I live in the country or anything, but McGirts Creek (which is part of the St. Johns river) is a few blocks west of my house and is the western edge of the preserve. The Eastern edge is a main railroad track that runs through along U.S. 17 (another main highway) through Jacksonville. This small piece of land is teaming with wildlife because no hunting is allowed and nothing can be taken out or put into the preserve. I have seen deer, turkey and many other types of wild animals right in the middle of my backyard, and my yard is only about 40 yards long and then it turns into thick woods. So it was really amazing that she laid her eggs almost right against the foundation of the house instead of back in the woods. But if i end up seeing them hatch I will try to get some pics posted.

Here are some pics of her in the yard and then laying the eggs:

 

[cmacusa3]

Very cool!

 

[tortdad]

Awesome

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Wonderful!
And thanks for posting.
And a very warm welcome to Tortoise Forum.

 

[Angel Carrion]

Hey! How's the nest doing? Have you seen the female back?

 

[MichaelL]

Did the babies hatch? Any new news with them?

 

[Billna the 2]

Welcome to the Forum!

 

[Yvonne G]

This thread was posted in July, 2015 and the poster hasn't been back to the Forum since July 2015. Too bad cuz I'd really like to know the rest of the story.

 

[krisrpaz]

Hi! I live about 45 minutes south of Jacksonville and I also got to see a box turtle lay two eggs in my compost pile this afternoon! Here is a link to a video I made:

https://www.facebook.com/100008206779187/posts/2655662718050595

 

[MichaelL]

Hi! I live about 45 minutes south of Jacksonville and I also got to see a box turtle lay two eggs in my compost pile this afternoon! Here is a link to a video I made:

https://www.facebook.com/100008206779187/posts/2655662718050595

SO cool!! I love fl boxies.

 

[krisrpaz]

SO cool!! I love fl boxies.

It’s funny because I breed chickens, so I told my husband we are now hatching chickens and turtles! In all seriousness, I think we are going to add a wire cage on the nest to give them their best chance because it takes 70 days for them to hatch and I’m worried something will eat the eggs.

 

[PJay]

If that area of your compost pile reaches temps above 88f you might want to consider incubating the eggs artificially. The ideal temps would be around 84f. Compost piles can reach excessively high temps for box turtle eggs. You can use a soil thermometer to check the temps around the nest.

 

[krisrpaz]

If that area of your compost pile reaches temps above 88f you might want to consider incubating the eggs artificially. The ideal temps would be around 84f. Compost piles can reach excessively high temps for box turtle eggs. You can use a soil thermometer to check the temps around the nest.

Thank you! I read that the eggs are extremely fragile, so I was scared to disturb them at all. That particular compost pile is quite old and when I was digging around in it yesterday, it didn’t feel any extra warmth, so I was going to turn it today. I will get my thermometer out there today and see what I’m reading.