Reptile & Amphibian Forums

While digging up potatoes I accidentally dug up a nest of what I believe are great plains skink eggs. They are about 3/4 inch long and pinkish white. An adult skink came running out of the soil a few minutes before I noticed the eggs.

I went ahead and moved the eggs into a plastic container with a lid using the same soil they were in although a few of them were probably turned over before I noticed them. Will turning them kill them like in turtle eggs?

How warm should they be kept and how much moisture do they need? They were in garden where the soil temp was around 80 degrees so that's what I've been keeping them at for today. I figure if the mom laid them in that temp soil . . .

Is there any way to tell how old they are? If the adult skink was there with them could she have just been laying them? I didn't think they stuck around after laying eggs.

thanks!

According to the info sheet (attached) the female skink remains guarding the eggs,after ovodeposition. Depending on the deposition time of the female, the embryos may be alright, if you minimumally re-oriented the egg direction. I'm not sure if it is as critical as with chelonians & crocodillians. Eighty deg.F should be fine for incubation, (if that was what the nest temperature was). Incubate with a 50:50 by weight moisture to media (vermiculite &/or perlite). Squeezing the moisture out as much as you can by hand will approximate this.

Goodluck
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