Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Tomorrow (Tues) will be DAY 70 for my turtle nest, and still no signs of hatchlings. The turtles will not be able to escape once they break the surface, so it's not a case of me missing them. This is a nest of two eggs. This female hasn't been bred in a while, but the reason I don't think that they're infertile is because the female laid another 2 cluthes (possibly and most likely 3) of another 2 eggs. I'm located in Houston. Can anybody put my mind to rest?

Since no-one knows EXACTLY what hatchlings do underground after hatching, I would say just continue observing the nest on a regular basis.
If I'm not mistaken, much of the data on incubation periods we hear about most frequently was collected under laboratory (ie: controlled) conditions: steady temperatures, humidity, etc. It may take a little longer in a natural setting, and, just because the eggs have hatched doesn't mean the little ones are ready to dig out yet.

In real life, soil temperatures fluctuate, the ground hardens due to lack of rain, a late clutch of eggs may hatch and overwinter in the nest... you may have a few more weeks to wait before you see little ones come up. That yolk can sustain them for a VERY long time.

I would wait a while to do this, but after 90-100 days without hatchlings should I dig down there and see what's going on?

Based on your location (pretty far south), and the fact that you say the hatchlings cannot escape once they dig out, my inclination is to tell you to just continue to wait it out and resist the urge to dig them up.
I don't know how the weather has been in your part of the world, but if it's been very dry for many weeks, you could think about turning a sprinkler on so that the nest area gets a little 'rain'. That way if you do have hatchlings that are just waiting for better conditions for digging out, you might help the process along a little.

As eager as I am to see my little guys, I wouldn't dig them up until maybe day 100 to see what's going on. Lately it has been extremely wet, even to the point that I thought I might be raining too much on the nests. But now its finally drying up. This morning we were at a cool 78 and I've heard a little cooler tomorrow morning. Hard to imagine 78 is cool for us at this time of year. Hoopefully the milder temperatures will entice them to come out. Hope all is well with our little guys, and thanks for the help.

I am on the same boat as you, except my eggs are in artificial incubation, they are 2 weeks late, my painted turtle eggs that were laid on the same day and incubated in the same location have all hatched and are now swimming, I know my boxie eggs are still alive as I candled them a couple nights ago.
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