Reptile & Amphibian Forums

After keeping box turtles for the last six-seven years, I finally have eggs. They are florida box turtles, and I am oh so excited. I have been finding test holes the last few days, and finally caught her burying the eggs today. I would like to incubate them, but don't have proper set up, and I am leaving Saturday to go to Vegas for a week. So I guess I will just let nature take its course. I live in Florida with average temps 90-95. How long can I expect for incubation? I hope they make it!

Saturday is a few days away.....so why not get what you need and try to incubate them?
I incubated my eggs in moistened vermiculite, in a plastic food container....both available at any Walmart, or Home Depot or local hardware store, probably even in most food stores.

The vermiculite should be very moist, soak it and then drain out all excess free water.

There are, of course, other ways to incubate the eggs. If you do decide to dig up the eggs and artificially incubate them, make sure you don't rotate them. The top side must stay the top side.

The eggs will take a couple months to hatch, but hatching is dependent on temperature etc. There is a lot of online information on breeding and hatching and raising young boxies. Read read read and then ask questions. Tess has a good online book. In the future you should also be able to tell when your female is gravid. She may even double clutch this year.

Are your turtles outside or inside? Diet? Set-up? Florida boxies are always in demand. Since you hav captives, breed them and get the young circulated around.

I decided to leave them be in the ground. I would be nervous leaving the heat lamp on in the house while I was gone. I always have nightmares about the lamp falling and catching fire. Today we had a huge rain storm, I was worried the eggs would be under water. I guess instinct was right on because the were on high ground, not under water. They live outside in my "flower bed" which has really become a turtle habitat. They eat mainly the many bugs that are rolling around. I throw them the leftovers - fruit, veggies, cooked chicken. They two that I have have been found in the neighborhood. I actually bought one for 20 bucks off some kids that were floating it in the ditch across the street. I have had them a few years, always hoping for eggs. The female is a beauty, I hope they survive. Any idea on when I can expect them to hatch? I am not holding my breath seeing as this is her first clutch ever.

congrats!!!, good luck with them, any picts?
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Jeff Benfer
You'll get your regius's to the wall, man!
1.0 pastel Python regius
0.1 mojave Python regius
0.1 normal Python regius
0.2 Terrapene carolina thriunguis
2.3 Terrapene carolina carolina
4.1 Kinosternon baurii
1.1 Malaclemys terrapin terrapin
2.1 Ambystoma tigrinum
2.2 het albino and anerythristicThamnophis sirtalis parietalis
1.0 anerythristic Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis
1.1 Iowa snow Thamnophis radix
1.1 heterozygous for amelanistic,carmel, and stripe Pantherophis guttatus
0.1 anerythristic motley Pantherophis guttatus