Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi!
I found an egg in the water with my turtles. I think it has been in the water in a couple of hours. Can it hatch?

Kind regard

Kenny from Sweden

Yes. Though "a couple of hours" is probably at the maximum that it could be under the water and still be viable. The bigger question is: is it fertile? If the turtle has not been with a male within the last 2 years, it almost certainly is not.

She lives with a male and one more female.

Well then... if you want to go to the trouble for one egg that may or may not still be alive... go for it and incubate it. There's bunches of information around about how to do it.

I incubated a nest of painted turtles a number of years ago, and, though you get kind of bored halfway through (it takes about 2 months), it is really neat to see little live things... that you helped to get there... crawl up out of the sand and start moving around!

Okej, i have put it in my inkubator with my Leopard gecko eggs. I guess i will see if the egg is ok in a couple om days. Thanks for your'e help!

/Kenny

Kenny --

Just a few more questions. What kind of turtle is it? Generally -- most aquatic turtles require very high humidity while incubating. I am unfamiliar with gecko incubation requirements. They may differ drastically.

Also do you have a land area in you enclosure that you turtle is able to haul herself out on and dig a nest? If not you should try to provide that for her. She (or even the other female) may still be retaining eggs and might be stimulated to lay the entire clutch if provided with a nesting area. (it really is not good to force gravid females to retain their eggs. They could calcify and cause severe health problems for your turtles.

Good luck with the egg. It may be viable. Worth a chance anyway.

Steve

Hello!
I'm not the owner of the turtles. My friend works at a school where they lives so i'm not sure how they lives but i can ask him. By the way, it's Trachemys scripta.

Kind regards

Kenny