Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok, didn't realize the old forums were being closed, so here is attempt #2.

========

hi everyone....

i am new to the RES forums, and am hoping that someone out there can answer these questions:

i have a female RES thats about 5 years old that's about 8 inches long. it's in a tank with a smaller male painted turt. as i was getting a midnight snack, i heard lots of thrashing around. i went to investigate, and i noticed that my RES was trying to lay an egg. this isn't the first time this has happened. i found egg shell remants before, but this is the first time i have ever seen the actual process.

so i took the turt out of the tank, and got the egg. now i am wondering, is the egg fertilized? if it isn't, is it normal for female RES turts to lay eggs without it being fertilized? is this some jurassic park thing where females can lay eggs without the males? and if the egg is fertilized, how do i go about trying to hatch the thing?

thanks guys.

Female RES lay unfertilized eggs from time to time, the eggs will not hatch. She will probably lay more than one, and should have a laying box of dirt to lay them in, otherwise she may get egg-bound.

A female turtle will lay eggs, as do female birds, even without a male around. How do you think we get the eggs we eat from chickens? The eggs your turtle are laying are not fertilized, because she has not mated. So obviously, you won't be able to hatch them...there's no baby inside!
Hope that helps!