Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i was given three ltc boxies about 2 months ago... i found an egg in the pen about a week ago but it was crushed.. today i went to their pen to change water and feed them and i saw an egg sitting on the top of the soil.. i poked around a little and found a few more that were crushed, only one intact... but i have no clue what to do with it.. i hadnt planned on breeding these, in fact, those three are in a separate pen from the rest of them for quaranteen before i introduce them to the herd... i really know nothing about box turtle breeding .. can anyone refer me to a good website about it or give me some advice? i dont have an incubator and im not even sure if the egg is fertilized... how long is the box turtle gestation period? of the three new ones there are two females and one male... is there any way to tell which female laid the eggs? the larger one feels signifigantly heavier than the other but i dont know if that means anything.. shes also been soaking excessively, but again.. i dont know if that has anything to do with the eggs.. i would greatly appreciate any advice..

*dana
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my pets: clown treefrogs, reed frogs, big eyed treefrogs, tiger leg monkey frogs, gray treefrogs, milk frogs, cuban treefrogs, whites tree frog, green treefrogs, squirrel treefrogs, blue webbed gliding treefrog, red eye treefrogs, chameleon treefrogs?, mossy treefrogs, dusky salamanders, tiger salamander, box turtles, mud turtle, map turtle, yellowbelly slider, florida softshell, two saltwater tanks, five cats, two chinchillas, and a boyfriend.

I'm sorry, it would be nearly impossible to tell who laid the eggs.

box turtle breeding-
http://www.boxturtlesite.org/bred.html

A link to egg incubation is about halfway down the text.

Good luck. As long as that egg wasn't exposed to direct sunlight for an extended period of time, it may very well hatch. I used to think that females lay eggs on the surface when they are not fertile. But, how would they know? Your turtles are in a new environment, and they are stressed. Hopefully, the females will feel more comfortable and find good laying spots next year.

thanks so much! that page was incredibly helpful... im going to try to incubate it and see what happens... and ill definitely set up an area in thier temporary pen that they can lay eggs properly if need be.. right now they are on my back porch in a 6x7 foot wooden pen with about four inches of soil.. hopefully if i provide a better place to lay she will decide to use it next time.. thanks again
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my pets: clown treefrogs, reed frogs, big eyed treefrogs, tiger leg monkey frogs, gray treefrogs, milk frogs, cuban treefrogs, whites tree frog, green treefrogs, squirrel treefrogs, blue webbed gliding treefrog, red eye treefrogs, chameleon treefrogs?, mossy treefrogs, dusky salamanders, tiger salamander, box turtles, mud turtle, map turtle, yellowbelly slider, florida softshell, two saltwater tanks, five cats, two chinchillas, and a boyfriend.