Painted Turtle laying eggs

[Indiana Karen]

Isn't nature great!!!
 
We found this little gal laying eggs on our pond damn.  When she finished laying them she tidied up the area and an hour later you couldn't tell where it was.  We put up some markers so we won't drive over it until they hatch, which will be around August 2.

Karen

[jclements]

That's wild!

As a child, I picked up box turtles and kept them in our greenhouse. We would overwinter them while they were hibernating and so forth. One year, one of them laid and egg. I was very, very excited! I suppose it was never fertilized or something, as it never hatched. For years I have wanted to see a newborn box turtle.

Keep us posted on the progress!

[Jerry]

Great shot.  I need to work it out so my RES can do it too.

[bunny56lbc]

That's a neat picture !
bonnie

[Ky Kim]

Wow, how cool is that..............great pics.

Kim

[perplexed ponder]

Oh you BETTER be sitting right there with your camera when those babies hatch! We are all gonaa want to see!!!

[Bonnie]

Hi Karen, 

You must have had your camera in hand to catch that one...... too cool!

When we first started building our pond we found turtle eggs right by the pond.  I had to move them because they would have got squished where they were.   Never did hatch though, probably from me moving them.

[Celia]

That was great timing, camera in hand as she is laying.  Definitely keep us posted.  Great shots

[Cindi]

What a great experience to catch her laying her eggs! 

[Shae]

Karen, you were definitely at the right place at the right time. What great pics! Please keep us posted.

[Indiana Karen]

Actually, hubby found her laying the eggs.  When I came home he was standing on the damn with the camera in his hand.  She had layed eight eggs.  We watched her for another half hour or so and she wasn't doing anything.  Came inside for a bit and when we went back out she was gone and we could barely tell where they were.  It is very dry here and the ground was as hard as a rock.  Apparently, she was wetting on the dirt to soften it up to dig.  When we went back out the ground was dry and there were even little rocks on the spot. 

I would love to see the eggs hatch, but I doubt that it happens on the exact day, but I will be checking.  Hope I don't forget, I have it written on the calendar.

Karen

[barb]

How cool!  I love that she covered it up so well.  We saw a turtle laying eggs a few years ago at the zoo next to a pond, it was fun to watch.  She was right on the other side of the glass.  She had a kind of swaying motion, back and forth, as she laid each egg.

[Kat]

Too cool.  I was wondering how at the mud got there as the rest of the ground looked dry.  Hope they hatch & you get pics.

[miguynmkoi]

WOW!!  Great Pics!

Congratulations are in order    Hope you get plenty of turtle nieces and nephews!!  Oh...better get sober with a cup of coffee 

[El Jefe]

Reptile eggs are different from other eggs in that they cannot be rotated after the first few hours. if they get rotated the embryo's will get smothered by the yolk and die. Not that you are going to move them but if the need arises keep the vertical and horizontal axis's a close to exact as possible. I used a sharpie to mark the eggs when moving them.  My other hobby is herpatology  I used to raise a lot of lizards and such. They will hatch out within plus or minus 48 hours of the normal gestation. For the turtles it is best to put up a 1/4 in mesh (harware cloth)  collar over the site. This will prevent predators from digging it up and will allow you to see the newborns when they hatch. Great shots, and good luck!.
Andy

[SueSTx]

How cool is that.  What a special surprise.