Reptile & Amphibian Forums

well, our female laid eggs on May 5. We have been takingcare of them with humidity and heat... but still no hatchlings.
we tried to shine a light thru the egg to see what we could see.
it was difficult to notice anything.
the eggs seem solid. any advice?? thanks
beth

If they have not caved in or have gone rotten, leave them alone. Depending on temperatures, they can take awhile. I have eggs from the second week of June that are still good, but still have a way to go (they are incubating at room temps)

Patience,patience and if that fails try some more patience!if they seem solid they are probably full of baby turtle and ready to hatch,keep the humidity up and wait,good luck!

My rule is not to remove them until they collapse 50% or more, or turn rotten. With that rule I've had some hatch late, but I've never had a box turtle go beyond 80 days (all those eggs eventually went bad). There's nothing really to lose by waiting to be certain the egg is bad.

thanks to all for the advice.

we are just very anxious. this will be our first group of hatchlings. She laid three others this year that we were not aware of. those did not make it. These are our hope for this year. thanks again.
b and j

It'll take time to get things just right, and even then you'll find that it takes a tough person to breed box turtles. They are delicate creatures as babies, and prone to deaths (I just had one I'll post about) that you can't predict or prevent or even explain.
It's rewarding when you get to a point where you have several, have some you've had around since birth that aren't far from breeding themselves, etc., but it's definitely got it's pitfalls, emotionally.