Hi all,

A few weeks ago my brother brought me an EBT female that was struck by a car. Her shell was intact but her back legs were crushed. Once we knew she would survive, we affectionately named her Speedbump. After numerous visits to my herp vet, it was decided that her one leg had to be amputated (too much shattered bone and dying tissue) and the other leg had a lot of dead tissue/muscle removed. For 10 days she received daily shots of Baytril and her wounds had to be flushed out twice a day with Sodium Chloride. She is doing GREAT! Despite everything she has been through, she is the sweetest, friendliest box turtle out of the bunch - and she will eat ANYTHING out of your hand.

I have been keeping her in a 10-gallon tank on papertowels, with a vitamin light (85 degrees daytime, 75-80 degrees night) and a hidebox. I was intructed by my vet to keep her contained, warm, and clean to give the wounds time to heal.

The last few nights she has been digging a lot into the paper towels. So I ripped up some towels to give her an area in which to burrow. This morning I found an egg! It is slightly dented on one side. I removed the egg from the tank (being careful not to touch it with my bare hand, and not rotate it) - I placed it in slightly damp soil in a shallow bucket in my yard (in the same position in which I found it), covering it with about 2 inches of soil. The egg is about an inch to an inch and a quarter long, and bright white. Because I do not know the history of this turtle, I do not know if this is a viable egg.

Would anyone be able to give me some advice regarding this situation? I have read that the egg should take approximately 3 months to hatch (if it is viable). Is there a better way I can keep this egg to increase its chances of hatching? Do you think after sitting for possibly hours in the tank that the egg may have died? Is there a way to tell if the egg is "alive"? Should I expect her to lay more eggs in the upcoming days/weeks?



It would be fascinating to see if this egg actually hatches. She is a gorgeous bright-orange turtle and I'm sure she would have beautiful, sweet offspring.



Thank you so much for any advice or comments.

Lisa
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1.0.0 Jack Russel Terrier: Skipper

0.1.0 Miniature Pinscher: Bambi

1.1.1 Eastern Box Turtles: Daisy, Dozer, and Magnum

0.1.0 Red Eared Slider: Rosie

0.2.0 Rats: Clementine and Elsie

0.0.2 Rainbow Cichlids

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